


Magic & Mayhem

by alice_time



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Curses, De-Aged Characters, Gen, May contain spoilers for Seasons 1-5, Non-consenual Spanking, Parental Spanking, Spanking, Spoilers for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2018-09-15 23:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9263318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alice_time/pseuds/alice_time
Summary: Someone has unleashed a new curse on the residents of Storybrooke—well, some of them anyway. Emma and Killian are engulfed by a cloud of magic and when the cloud clears something has changed.They've changed.No one is quite sure if they're ready for a teenage Savior and Captain Hook.There are tags folks. Read the tags. Accept the tags. If you don't like the tags, you will probably not like the content. Cheers.





	1. Once More with Feeling

 

Emma had thought she was used to the weirdness of Storybrooke. She’d lived through the dragon under the library, Regina’s evil mother, about four bouts of amnesiac residents and was, she thought, finally starting to settle in. Henry was doing well, her baby brother and her parents were good, hell, even Regina was finally getting her own happiness with Robin and little Roland.

Other than the ever-present mischief of Mr. Gold, it really looked like the town might be looking at a quiet summer. Emma was looking forward to quiet. Killian had offered to teach her to sail—and give her some sword fighting pointers with a lascivious grin. Of course, her father had been standing nearby at the time and shot Killian a look that could probably kill a less confident man.

The day had started normally enough, she gotten breakfast with everyone at Granny’s and then met up with Killian at the docks. They were _maybe_ ten minutes into their first sailing lesson which up to that point had consisted mostly of double entendres and kissing—when Emma got a call from the station. Odd lights had been spotted out in the woods near the well. Killian, unwilling to lose out on any time with Emma, volunteered to go along.

The pair arrived before David and Snow, just in time to see the lights in question emerging from the well. Sparkling white lights were floating up from the well, spreading out in a glittering cloud.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Emma muttered.

“It is a magic well, Swan,” Killian replied. “Bound to be some odd bits of magic now and again.”

“At least it doesn’t look _dangerous_.” She wrinkled her nose. “But we’ll have to cordon off the area until we sort it out.”

“Fair enough.” Killian turned. “Oh look, it’s the gallant prince.”

Emma followed his line of sight, spotting her parents and waving. “You might want to stay back,” she called. “I’m not sure what this is.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be too close either,” Snow commented.

Emma shrugged and turned back to the well. It was possible someone had chucked something in the well again. Except, that usually resulted in malicious looking smoke. “Maybe Blue would know what this,” she mused.

“Or we could figure it out now,” Killian pulled a coin from a pouch at his belt. “It is a wishing well, Swan.”

She gave him a look. “You know, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Won’t know for sure until we give it a try.”

Emma shook her head. “Not happening.”

He shrugged.

A moment later, the ground began to rumble and water shot up out of the well, knocking off the little roof top and blasting it into the trees. Emma staggered back and Killian caught her.

“Emma!” David shouted.

The water splashed down, soaking Emma and Killian.

“Great,” she muttered.

“Oh, I don’t know, you still look quite fetching,” Killian rumbled, helping her up. “Do you smell lemons?”

“Lemons?”

The white lights swirled overhead, condensing into a dense sparkling cloud that descended on Emma and Killian.

Snow and David watched in horror as their daughter was engulfed in the magic. And to some extent, also concern for Killian. Finally, the cloud dissipated back into the well, leaving Emma and Killian prone on the damp ground. Neither hero waited a moment longer, rushing forward to check on their fallen daughter—and Killian.

“Emma?” Snow carefully turned Emma over and then gasping. “Emma?”

Emma blinked, pushing damp hair from her face. “Mom?” She shook her head. “What’s wrong?”

David turned Killian over, the man’s hook falling onto the forest floor with a thud and David blinked in confusion. “What the…” He looked up at Snow. “This is a new one.”

Snow nodded in agreement. “You better call Regina.”

“What’s wrong?” Emma persisted, sitting up to get a look at Killian. “Oh my god. Killian?”

“What?” he muttered, blinked and turned toward her. “Emma?” His eyes widened. “Bloody hell, Swan, you look…young.”

“So do you,” she replied. “Like a teenager.”

“This is not good.”

Well, she couldn’t argue with him on that one.

“Come on, we’ll go see Regina,” Snow said. “I’m sure she’ll know what to do.”

Emma stood and pulled her pants up a bit. Her clothes were a few sizes too big and her jeans just didn’t fit the right way. At least her boots were still fine. Killian seemed to be having similar trouble with his own trousers, but his eyes fixed first on his left hand—given that he _had_ a left hand again. Teenage Killian had a softer look about him, and with his too big clothes he looked more vulnerable than Emma could ever remember.

Still adorable though.

David and Snow took charge, herding the now teenaged pair off to the lot where David had parked his truck and Emma had parked her car.

“I’ll drive Emma’s car,” Snow said. “Keys.”

Emma raised her eyebrows. “Hey, I can still drive.”

“Not until we know this hasn’t effected more than appearances, missy.” Snow held out her hand. “Give.”

Emma rolled her eyes, but handed over the keys. “This is ridiculous.”

“You’re telling me.”

***

Regina wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when she got Snow’s message, but Hook and Emma turned into teens? That was a new one for her. She finished a quick magical examination of them both—after they’d gotten dry.

Emma still wanted a change of clothes, but she was willing to wait for a bit longer if it got them answers.

“This isn’t like any curse I’ve seen before,” Regina admitted, shaking her head. “From what you described…I’m not even sure it’s a _curse_ , in the traditional sense. We’ll need to get the fairies on this.”

Snow nodded.

Emma sighed. “There’s got to be a way to fix this though, right? I can’t just stay like this?”

Killian coughed.

“ _We_ , we can’t just stay like this.” She shot an apologetic look in his direction.

“For now, it’s probably a good idea for you both to get cleaned up and changed, I’ll have Blue meet you at home.”

Snow nodded. “That’s a good idea. If you think of anything else, Regina—”

“I’ll let you know.”

“Could we…could we _not_ tell Henry about this? Just until we know what _this_ is?” Emma asked.

“Oh yes, because keeping secrets is _such_ a good idea,” Regina snarked.

Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying we don’t tell him, just…” She sighed. “This isn’t exactly normal.”

“Nothing in this town is ever normal.” Regina put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. We always figure these things out, right?”

Emma nodded and flashed a smile. “Yeah, we do.”

“All right, let’s get you two cleaned up,” Snow said. “I’m sure we can find some things that fit you, Killian.”

“Thanks, Snow.”

If they were lucky, Emma thought, they’d have this whole thing sorted before dinner.

She did _not_ want to go through puberty all over again.

***

Showered and changed, Emma and Killian waited for the Blue Fairy at David and Snow’s place. By the time Blue’d arrived, Emma thought she’d at least figured out about how old her current form was. Her flower tattoo was still in place and she had the little scar from falling off a bike when she was fifteen so she had to be _at least_ in her fifteen-year-old body.

Blue looked them both over, sprinkling a dash of pixie dust over each teen’s head and watching the result with a furrowed brow.

“You said the wishing well did this?” she asked finally, looking at Snow and David for confirmation.

“Yes,” David nodded, “Regina said it wasn’t like any curse she’d seen before.”

“I’m not sure it is a curse,” Blue replied. “It feels like wish magic, which makes some sense given it came from the wishing well.” She shook her head. “My real concern here is that the magic feels unfinished.”

Emma straightened. “You don’t think we’re going to get _younger_ do you?”

“I’m getting a different sort of sense.” Blue shrugged. “But I do believe it’s possible to reverse the magic. If it is a wish of some kind, we just need to find out who made the wish. This could be an unintended side-effect of the initial wish. I’ll have Tink and some of the others go over the wishing well and see what they can find. Regina is looking through the library now, if she finds something she’ll call. For now, neither one of you should be left alone. I don’t know what other effect this magic might have on you.”

Killian pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “This is not how I expected this day to go.”

“Do we know how young they are?” David asked.

“ _That_ I can tell you,” Blue replied. “Fifteen and sixteen, respectively.” She pointed at Emma and then Killian. “Maybe fifteen and a half.”

Emma made a face. “Great.”

“We’ll fix this, Emma,” Snow said. “I’m sure of it.”

Emma was looking forward to the whole “fixing” aspect. She was stuck wearing one of her mom’s dresses and a pair of leggings, after her own wardrobe proved ill-fitting. Killian was stuck in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and Emma lent him one of her band t-shirts. The Misfits tee at least made him look a bit more like himself.

“Are you guys hungry?” David asked. “I could make pancakes.”

“Somehow I don’t think pancakes are going to fix this,” Emma snapped. “I’m just—going to go lay down. I’m tired.” She got up off the couch and stalked up the stairs to the loft.

Snow glanced at David, worry furrowing her brow.

“Do you want pancakes, Killian?” Snow asked.

The teenaged-looking pirate shook his head. “I—I think I’m just going to take a kip on the couch.” He yawned. “I feel very tired all of a sudden.”

Before either Snow or David could consider it might be a bad idea for the recently enchanted to fall asleep, Killian was out like a light.

David checked Killian’s pulse. “Heart rate is steady, but we might want to update Blue.”

“Already on it,” Snow said, heading up the stairs to the loft and finding Emma sprawled on the bed—also out.

She was breathing normally though, with none of the pallor of someone in an enchanted sleep. Snow sighed and tucked Emma in before texting Blue. It was so strange, seeing Emma like this. Seeing her as a teenager…it was like having a second chance. Snow shook her head. _I don’t want her stuck like this._ She pushed the hair out of Emma’s face and then padded back down the stairs.

David gave her a look.

“Emma’s out too.”

“Great.”

A soft cry from the bedroom signaled Neal waking from his nap. “I’ll get him,” Snow said. “Just keep an eye on Killian.”

“Can do.”

There came a knocking on the front door. David quickly headed over to answer it, somewhat surprised to find Ruby standing outside.

“Hey, Ruby, what’s up?”

“Hey. Is Emma here? We’ve got a minor emergency downtown.”

“What kind of minor emergency?” David asked. Snow joined him at the door, baby Neal in her arms.

“Well a giant rabbit and two people sort of hopped out of a hole in the ground and then Robin got really weird and started fighting with the guy and now there’s sort of a brawl.” She blinked. “Where’s Emma?”

“Emma isn’t available, but I can assist.” He quickly grabbed his shoulder holster and jacket. “Do you need an extra set of hands here?”

Snow sighed. “I’ll call around, don’t worry about me.”

“Okay.” He gave her a quick kiss and rushed out after Ruby.

Snow sighed, looking down at Neal. “You know what, when you grow up, you are not allowed to get cursed or enchanted. Okay?”

Neal made a noise.

Snow sighed again. “Just another day in Storybrooke.”


	2. Smells Like Teen Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killian and Emma wake up. 
> 
> Minor spanking and threat at end of chapter.

Emma and Killian had been asleep for nearly two days, and Snow was getting worried. Sure, they had a few other things to worry about. Rabbits and new residents were just the tip of the iceberg there, but Snow’s focus was on her daughter. Blue and Regina had confirmed the pair weren’t under a sleeping curse, but neither was certain when precisely they would wake up.

It still wasn’t clear what had caused the well’s magic to effect them in the first place.

And Henry wasn’t really taking any of it well. “Are you sure she’s going to wake up?” he asked for the fifth time as Regina attempted to pry him away from Emma’s beside.

“Yes, Henry, I’m sure.”

“Maybe someone should kiss her, just in case.”

“She’s going to be fine, and you need to get to work, young man.” She gave him a look. “This summer job was your idea, Henry.”

The teenager sighed. “I know. But you’ll call me if anything happens? Right?”

“Yes, Henry, I will call.” She gave him a look she hoped was reassuring. “Now _shoo_.”

“Okay, okay.” He gave her a quick hug, took one last look at his sleeping mother and headed out.

Regina sighed. She was worried, actually, about Emma—and Killian to some extent. They still didn’t really know what was going on and if this went on much longer she was going to have to do something she _really_ didn’t want to do.

Namely, ask Rumplestiltskin for help.

“Regina?”

Regina blinked, turning toward the young, but somewhat familiar voice that had called her name. “Emma, you’re awake.”

Emma rubbed her eyes. “I feel like I slept for a week—my mouth tastes bad.” She made a face.

“It’s been about thirty-six hours,” Regina said.

“Oh.” Emma’s eyes widened a touch. “Excuse me.” She slipped out of bed, rushing down the stairs and straight into the bathroom.

Regina shook her head and padded down the stairs to check on Killian. They’d moved him onto a cot the evening he’d first fallen asleep. David was with him at the moment.

“Was that Emma?” David asked.

“Yup.”

Killian sat up, startling David. The teenaged pirate blinked. “What am I doing here?”

“You fell asleep on the couch,” David reminded. “Tell me you remember the whole wishing well thing?”

“Not likely to forget, mate.” Killian eyed his hands.

Emma emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, looking relieved. “I’m hungry.”

Killian immediately claimed the bathroom while Emma padded into the living room and eyed her father somewhat warily. They’d always had a bit of a height difference, but at fifteen and a half, Emma hadn’t finished growing. She’d had a growth spurt around seventeen that would take her to her full height. David _was_ tall, she’d always known that, but right then he felt like a giant.

Hell, even her mother, who she’d edged out by an inch, was now taller than she was.

“I could make pancakes,” David said. “Your mom is at the library.”

“Pancakes would be great.” Emma managed a smile. “Anything happen while I was out?”

“Well, Henry knows,” Regina said. “It was kind of hard to keep it from him.”

Emma sighed. “Great.”

“What’s great, love?” Killian asked.

“Henry knows about our little _Seventeen, Again_ , issue.”

“I don’t think I understand that reference,” Killian replied.

“We’ll watch it later.”

Regina looked up from a quick text update to all of those currently in the loop. “Emma, you might want to consider brushing your hair—it’s starting to resemble a bird’s nest. And maybe a shower.” She looked at Killian. “You too, pirate.”

“Did we already cover how long we were out?” Killian asked.

“About thirty-six hours,” Emma said. “And Dad is making pancakes.”

Killian made an approving sort of face and plopped down on the couch. “Great.”

“And then the both of you need to be examined by Dr. Whale and Blue,” Regina said. “Snow has already informed the relevant parties.”

Killian scowled. “Being prodded sure seems like a good time, Regina but…could we not?”

“You’re not getting out of this one, Guyliner.” Regina smirked.

He sighed.

“You’re both going to the doctor,” David confirmed. “Who knows what this magic has really done? We have to make sure you’re both okay.”

Emma sat down next to Killian and kissed his cheek. “It’ll be fine. Really.”

He flushed.

David concentrated on making the pancakes. He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about Emma and Hook when they _didn’t_ look like teens, and he was _really_ not sure how he felt about it now that they did. He wasn’t going to cause a scene over a kiss on the cheek but…he was damn sure he wasn’t okay with anything beyond that until they’d been returned to their normal adult selves.

“I have to get going,” Regina said, “but let me know how everything goes.”

“I will,” David said.

True to his word, after pancakes David herded the teens into his truck and drove them to the hospital to see Dr. Whale. Both exams took about an hour combined, and neither teen looked overly pleased afterwards.  

“I have to admit,” Dr. Whale said. “When you said Emma and Hook had been turned into teens, I didn’t quite believe it.” He glanced at David. “I’m running their bloodwork, but I went ahead and had brain scans done as well. The prefrontal cortex has definitely been impacted, though both of them seem to have a full command of their adult memories. This means they’ll be prone to the usual teenage bouts of emotional instability, risk-taking behaviors…the usual.

“I would advise against alcoholic consumption, given how the brain function fluctuates.”

“Can I drive my car?” Emma interrupted.

Dr. Whale shrugged. “Skills you had as an adult should still be there, I’m not sure about muscle memory, we don’t really have a base line for any of this. I’d say take it slow and hope they can fix this before you have find out.”

“Gee, thanks, Doc.”

“Wait, are you saying I can’t have rum?” Killian asked.

“I am saying that.”

“I’ll have you know I started drinking when I was sixteen.”

“That explains so much.” Dr. Whale shook his head. “But right now we don’t know what sort of effect it will have on you.”

David wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Killian _pout_ before, but it was the only word he could come up with right that moment to describe the baby-faced pirate.

Emma was trying not to laugh.

“You’ll want to cut back on coffee too,” Dr. Whale added. “Your brains are still developing.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Anything else I should worry about?” David asked.

“Keep track of any unusual sleeping patterns, memory issues, things like that. Once the blood tests come back I’ll give you a call.”

“Thanks, Dr. Whale. Come on kids, we’ll meet up with Blue at the library.”

Emma made a face. “Kids?”

David shrugged, “Sorry. It’s kind of—I mean you look—let’s just go.”

Emma exchanged a look with Killian that promised trouble. This teenage thing was going to get old real fast.

***

Blue and Snow weren’t the only ones at the library, Belle, Ruby and Regina were there as well, which meant Emma had to deal with two more people ogling at her de-aged self.

“I have to say,” Ruby commented, “you were a cute kid, Emma.”

“Thanks,” Emma muttered. “Do we have new information?”

“Yes and no,” Belle said. “I wanted to search the Author’s house to see if this had come up in any other stories, but Rumple got suspicious and Regina was very insistent that he not be involved.”

“I’d prefer the Crocodile not know about this,” Killian muttered. “Who knows what that bastard will do?”

Emma couldn’t disagree with him on that.

Belle made a face in agreement. “So we’ve been looking through all of the books here. And we found one reference to something similar.” She pointed to an open book on the table. “But this case was intentional, much like when the fairies turned August into a child again.”

“And it’s definitely the effect of a wish,” Blue added. “Since it’s not a curse, there’s not really a way to _break_ the magic. Reversal might be possible, but Tink is still trying to figure out what caused the well to react.”

“So you’re saying we’re stuck like this?” Emma gave Blue a look.

“For the time being, yes.”

Killian grimaced, balling up a fist and punching the nearest shelf—and immediately regretting it with a soft curse and shaking out his hand. “I forgot that wasn’t a hook.”

Emma winced in sympathy.

“We’ve made this a priority,” Blue promised. “We will get you both back to normal. I promise.”

Emma sighed. “I heard there are some new people in town, what’s up with that?”

“You don’t really need to worry about that—”

“Please, Mom, I need to distract myself from…this.” Emma gestured at herself.

“Okay. Well, it seems we have some visitors from Wonderland.”

“And Robin knew one of them,” Regina muttered. “It caused some friction.”

“They came to see Jefferson,” Snow said. “There’s really not anything you need to do. But if you want a distraction, you could always spend some time with Henry. He’s worried about you.”

“We could get back the sailing lessons, Swan,” Killian suggested.

“I don’t know that, that is a good idea,” David said.

“I’ve been sailing since I was a lad.” Killian gave David a sharp look. “It’s the one thing I’ve always been good at.”

Snow’s brow furrowed. “Well…as long as you don’t leave the bay—”

“Someone should go with them.” David interrupted. “Dr. Whale did say we should look out for any signs of memory loss. I’m pretty sure that means you shouldn’t be left alone.”

Killian glowered. He’d wanted some time alone to talk about all…this, with Emma.

“Instead, why don’t we go to Granny’s for lunch?” Snow suggested.

Emma groaned. She’d been dropped into her fifteen-year-old body, poked, prodded, refused caffeine and now everyone was acting like she wasn’t capable of being unsupervised. Never mind that they didn’t know how to fix it and she was sort of trying not to face the possibility that she’d have to grow up all over again.

 _It’s not fair._ Hadn’t she been through enough? Hadn’t Killian? What did they do to deserve this?

“Emma?” Snow prompted. “Are you okay?”

“No!” Emma shouted. “I’m not okay. Look at me, dammit! I’m five inches shorter, you won’t let me drive and I can’t drink coffee or rum—” Killian added a soft _here, here_. “—and I’m sick of it! What if we’re stuck like this for good? We _aren’t_ teenagers, in case you people forgot and if I want to go sail off with Killian, I will!”

Killian, for his part, had never been more in love with her. He was pretty sure that if they’d met properly as teens, they might not have gotten on, but it was interesting to see what Swan might have been like as a lass. _Just as fiery as her adult self._

David and Emma both raised their eyebrows at their fuming daughter.

“Emma,” David said firmly, “we’re only trying to make sure this magic doesn’t have any more effects. We can’t do that if we aren’t with you.”

Which was a perfectly reasonable answer, had Emma been feeling reasonable it might even have worked. She shook her head, turned on her heel and stormed out of the library.

Regina fixed Killian with a stony stare. “You stay right there or I’ll paralyze you.”

Killian raised his hands in surrender.

David and Snow hurried after Emma. She hadn’t gotten all that far, having realized about ten feet from the door that one, her car was at her parents’ apartment and two, she _really_ didn’t want anyone else to see her this way. But David’s truck _was_ there, and she didn’t exactly need his keys to start it.

“Emma!” David shouted, tugging the driver’s side door open. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Getting the hell away from all of _this_ ,” she snapped.

David raised his eyebrows and took hold of Emma’s arm, pulling her out of the truck. “What part of, _you can’t drive unsupervised_ , do you not understand Emma?” He shook his head, and without really thinking about it, laid four sharp swats to her backside. “We don’t know how this enchantment will effect you. We don’t know if you’ll keep your adult memories. You need to be smart about this.”

Emma stared at him, lips parted in shock. “You—you _spanked me._ What is wrong with you?”

“Yes I did, and if you don’t settle down right now I’ll take you back home and you’ll get a real spanking.”

“I’m not a kid!”

“You’re _my_ kid, no matter how old you are, Emma. Maybe I should have realized that sooner.” David gave her a look. “Now, are you going to come inside or are we going home? It’s your choice, Emma.”

She flushed bright red. “I’ll go back inside.”

“Good.” He glanced at Snow, a question on his face.

Snow nodded in approval.

David escorted Emma back into the library and without a word to anyone, sat her down at the table where they’d been doing their research. Killian raised an eyebrow at Emma’s reddened face. He was going to have to ask her what happened later.

Emma was, in a word, furious, but was she sat there with everyone pretending not to be watching her she started to wonder—had her dad really been serious? She hadn’t doubted him in the moment but… He wouldn’t really like put her over his knee and spank her, would he? There was no way.

Whatever though. She just had to get back to normal. _They_ had to get back to normal. Before David got anymore weird ideas.

She _was not_ going through puberty twice. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to let her father tell her what she could and could not do.

_I’m not a kid._

_I’m not._


	3. We're Not Going to Take It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is looking for a way to reverse the magic, but Emma and Killian are getting more frustrated with the situation the longer it lasts.
> 
>  
> 
> *Ware - spanking at the end.

They headed to lunch a few minutes later and Killian finally got a few moments alone with Emma while Snow and David picked up lunch from Granny’s and they stayed in the car to avoid too much public attention. David had given her a sharp look when he told them stay there she had translated explicitly to a reiteration of his prior threat.  

“So what happened out there?” he asked. “You looked like a tomato.”

“ _Nothing_ ,” she muttered. She was not about to tell Killian her father had spanked her. That was _not_ happening.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he’d given you a smacking.”

Emma’s ears went red.

Killian’s eyes went a bit wide. “He _didn’t_.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Killian cared a bit too much about self-preservation to laugh, so he clapped his hand over his mouth and stayed quiet, though internally he couldn’t quite help wondering about the more salient details. He couldn’t say he’d never been tempted to do something similar when Emma did something spectacularly reckless, but he hadn’t because again, he cared about her not murdering him in his sleep or poisoning his rum.

David was her father though, he had some protection from retaliation that Killian didn’t.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been an issue just to walk from the library, stop at Granny’s and then head home, but David hadn’t wanted to take any chances. Emma was pretty sure he’d lock her in the sheriff’s station if that’s what it took.

“Don’t worry, Swan, I’m sure they’ll sort this whole mess out quick,” Killian said. “We won’t be stuck like this.” He hoped not, anyhow. Even if he _did_ enjoy having both of his hands.

“I hope you’re right.” She sighed, leaning against him to rest her head on his shoulder. “And we figure out who cause this, I’m going to do something terrible to them.”

“We could keelhaul the blaggards,” Killian suggested, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She peered at him at him and smiled. Yeah, he looked different, but this was still _her_ Killian. “You know I love you, right?”

“Yes, but it’s always nice to hear it, Swan.” He smiled, the same devil-may-care smile she was used to.

She smacked him on the chest.

“I love you too,” he said after a beat. “And _we_ will get through this, love.”

“Thanks.” Emma took a deep breath. “Cause I don’t know about you, but my teens weren’t exactly years I’d like to repeat.”

“I know.” He squeezed her shoulder. “What do you think is going on with these visitors, then?”

“I don’t know.” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, _Wonderland_. The last time we met anyone from there it was Cora. And you might not have met Jefferson but…there’s a reason they call him the _mad_ hatter.”

“I met some people travelling that mentioned Wonderland once,” Killian mused. “An odd couple. The girl had a keen sword arm.”

“When was this?”

“In Neverland. We got the odd visitors now and again.” He snorted. “They’d come to swim with the mermaids. Dangerous thing.”

Emma nodded in agreement.

Snow and David emerged from Granny’s, takeout bags in hand.

“Your father doesn’t seem too keen on my affection toward you.”

“He doesn’t get a say.” She glanced at him. “I’m not—I mean…I think that until we get back into our own bodies I’d prefer we keep things…above the belt. You know?”

“I do.” He nodded. “It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s that…well, I’m _not_ a teenager and as long as you look like one I can’t imagine…”

“Exactly.”

“But I rather like this cuddling.”

“Me too.”

“You two hungry?” Snow asked, sliding into the front seat.

“Starving,” Killian replied, straightening.

David eyed the pair with a small amount of suspicion, put the car into drive, and set off.

***

It had been a week since the wishing well exploded. _A week._ Despite having her own place these days, her parents had insisted she stay with them. Killian, on the other hand, was staying with Regina. After much consultation and deliberation everyone decided it was the safest place for him…given that Rumple was likely to take this as an opportunity to do the now teenage pirate harm. As for attempting to return the pair to normal, well…They’d been sprinkled with pixie dust, fed foul tasting potions and acquired a mass of papercuts. Emma shoved the latest tome away from her and groaned, head falling into her hands. “This is pointless.”

“I’m starting to feel a bit fatalistic myself, Swan.” Killian slammed his book shut. “And if someone tries to feed me one more thing that smells like rotten eggs, I may mutiny.”

“I’m with you there.” She ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head.

“Mom, I think I found something,” Henry called, an open book in his arms. He flashed a smile at Emma and set the book down.

“Okay, kid, what do you have?”

“There’s more than one magic well,” Henry began. “In fact, the well’s water doesn’t even come from this world, it comes from the Enchanted Forest. All magic wells are connected. There’s the one here, the one in the Enchanted Forest, one in Wonderland…you get the idea. Now, something must have happened at one of these other wells and the effect rippled, which is what caused _our_ well to explode.”

“It’s a good theory, but how does that help us?”

“Well, if we can pinpoint which well it was, we might have a better idea to how to fix it.”

Killian nodded. “You’re a much finer scholar than I, lad.” He eyed the book. “These wells…there are dozens of them. How do we narrow this down?”

Emma’s brow furrowed. “Well, I have magic. I could take a stab at it.” Emma hadn’t used her magic in her teenage body, but that didn’t mean she _couldn’t_. She could still feel it, thrumming in her blood.

“You sure about that, Swan?”

“I’m sure that no one else has managed to make any progress. And I’m tired of sitting on my ass.” Emma looked at Henry. Snow and Belle had gone upstairs to look through the boxes of books in storage. For the moment, the “kids” were unsupervised. “Henry, I need a favor.”

He frowned. “Why do I get the feeling this is something I would get in trouble for?”

“Because you’re a very smart kid.” She smiled. “I need you to help me get out of here. Killian and I need to get back to the well.”

Henry’s frown deepened. “Are you sure about this?”

“I want to follow up on your lead. I can’t do that stuck in here and you know they won’t let me within a hundred yards of that well after what happened. Either I’m the Savior or I’m not.” She looked him in the eyes. “Please, Henry.”

He sighed. “Okay. But if I get into trouble for this, I’m blaming you.”

Emma grinned. “That’s fine.”

“Come on, I’ll make sure the coast is clear.”

And just like that, Emma and Killian slipped away. If Emma felt a small, _tiny_ niggle of guilt, well—she could just ignore that.

***

The well was not unguarded. Ruby and Robin were posted outside the splash radius. Emma exchanged a look with Killian.

“What’s the plan, love?”

“Time to test out a little spell.” Emma took a deep breath.

“You aren’t going to turn them into toads or anything?”

She gave him an incredulous look. “Of course not. I’ll just put a little sleeping spell on them.”

“Or, I could run out, draw them away from the well and then you can head over and do your magic on it.”

“That also works.” Emma flashed him a smile. “Well, get to distracting.”

He saluted haphazardly and then headed out into the clearing. “Hello there, Robin. Ruby. What are you two up to then?”

“Are you alone?” Robin asked. “I thought I recalled their majesties insisting you and Emma not be out and about on your own—and I distinctly recall them forbidding you from coming here.”

Ruby nodded in agreement. “Pretty sure you’re right about that, Robin.”

“I’m hardly a lad in need of coddling,” Killian said. “I mean to see that well up close.”

“That’s not happening,” Ruby replied. “You are going right back to town.”

“Make me, wolf.” Killian gave a cocky grin.

Her eyes narrowed and she began to stalk toward him, Robin close behind her. Killian’s smile widened and he ran toward the well, at the last moment diverting and then running into the woods. Ruby swore, and she and Robin took off after him.

Emma waited a few seconds before running up to well. She took a deep breath, concentrating on the magic. The water glistened just below the rim of the well, still and clear. _Feel what you want, Emma._ She looked at the water, bringing her power to bear in the palm of her hand and waving it over the water. _Show me what did this to me. Show me how this happened._ She licked her lips.

“Show me,” she whispered.

The surface flickered and an image began to appear. A place she didn’t know. Another well. There was a little girl with dark hair standing next to it. She leaned up on her tip toes and tossed a coin in the well. The clothes she was wearing were…old fashioned. A woman appeared at the edge of the image.

Emma frowned, passing her hand over the image again. “ _Let me hear_.”

“Dinah!” the woman’s voice was tinny, but clear. “Sweetheart what are you doing?”

“Making a wish, Mother.”

Their accents were British, Emma was sure of that.

The woman smiled. “A wish? What kind of wish?” She headed toward the little girl, scooping her up.

“I _can’t_ tell you, or it won’t come true.”

“Oh, I see.” She kissed Dinah on the forehead. “Let’s go then, Daddy is waiting for us.”

The image vanished as surely as it had come. Emma frowned. She couldn’t see how anything the well had shown her helped them. She didn’t know who the people were, she didn’t know which well it was.

“Shit.” She shook her head. “Come on well, there’s got to be something _helpful_ you can show me.”

Something silver and shiny appeared at the surface. A coin. It floated up and out of the water, spinning lazily at eye level.

Emma reached out and took it. It was a silver sixpence, minted in Great Britain. Was it the same coin the little girl had dropped into the well?

Words appeared on the water’s surface in golden light.

_Return the wish and it will be undone._

It vanished a moment later.

Emma blinked. “So…I give this coin back to the little girl and then I go back to normal?”

The well didn’t answer.

“I’m going to take that as a yes.” She tucked the coin into her pocket. But where exactly was she supposed to find this little girl?

“Swan, flee!” Killian shouted. “My pursuers are on my heels!”

Emma looked up from the well, spotting Killian—and then Ruby. She didn’t see Robin. She turned away, running back into the trees—and nearly running right into Robin.

“Oh, hey Robin.” She smiled. “How’s it going?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You know, I have this feeling your parents don’t know you’re here.”

“Which would matter if I was _actually_ fifteen. But I’m _not_.” She gave him a look. “I’m still the sheriff, I’m still the Savior, and I am going to solve this,” she gestured at herself. “So you and Ruby should just forget you ever saw me and Killian. Okay?”

“I don’t think you are swaying him, love!” Killian shouted. “Just run, we’ll sort it out later.”

“If you’re _really_ still all grown up,” Robin said. “Then you’ll wait here for David instead of running off like a child who knows they did something wrong.”

She frowned. He had a point. She really didn’t _like_ that he had a point either.

“Swan!” Killian shouted.

“He has a point,” she replied. “We aren’t kids. I’m not going to sneak around anymore. But I shouldn’t _have_ to sneak around either.” She shot Robin a sharp look. “And I know you wouldn’t have let me just walk up to the well if I’d asked.”

“Well, no.” He smirked. “But I have my orders.”

Killian came to a halt next to Emma, Ruby skidding to a stop a few feet from Robin. She gave the pirate a look that could have melted steel.

“You know your parents are just trying to protect you,” Ruby said.

“I can protect myself,” Emma muttered.

“I’m sure you can,” David remarked.

Emma startled, turning to get a look at her father as he stalked toward her. “Oh, hi Dad.” Her stomach flip-flopped. He didn’t look _angry_ really, but more—scared and relieved all at once.

“Get in the truck, both of you.” He pointed. “We’ll talk about this at home.”

Emma put her hands on her hips, looking up at him. “I finally have a lead on what did this.”

David paused. “You do?”

“Yes.” She nodded confidently. “I saw a vision in the well water. Someone made a wish and for some reason it…did this.” She gestured at herself and Killian. “If we return the wish, it’ll reverse what happened.”

“Okay, and how do you return a wish?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Emma fished the coin out of her pocket. “The well gave me this. The coin the wish was made with.” David held out his hand for it and Emma promptly stuck it back in her pocket. “I’d prefer to hold onto it.”

His expression made it clear that was a point they’d be discussing later. “I’m glad you found a lead.”

“See, you need to trust that I know what I’m doing.”

“Uh huh, and you snuck out of the library behind your mother’s back, distracted the people guarding the well and very well could have made this situation a hundred times worse. That doesn’t really sound like someone in the best frame of mind, now does it?”

Emma grimaced. “I did what I had to do.”

“I’m starting to think you and Killian need to be separated until we sort this out.”

“What?” Emma looked at Killian. “This was _my_ idea, not Killian’s. You just don’t like him because we’ve been dating. Well guess what, I love him. You aren’t going to split us up just because he has a somewhat questionable past. He’s proven over and over again that he’s a good person!”

Killian flushed. “Emma…”

“Well you have,” she said.

“We’re not talking about this right now Emma,” David said. “Are you going to get in the truck?”

“No. Killian and I are going to go back to library and figure out how to find the person who made the wish so we can fix this.” She raised her chin, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. _You are an adult, Emma. An Adult. You only look like a teenager._

Killian looked from Emma to David, suddenly very much aware that Emma’s stubbornness didn’t _just_ come from her mother.

“You are going to get in the truck.”

“No, I’m not.”

Robin and Ruby wisely snuck back to their guard positions, leaving Killian as the awkward third wheel to the confrontation.

David didn’t blink. “You’ve got until I get to three to get in the truck, Emma.”

“Are you _kidding_ me?”

“One.”

Emma didn’t budge, crossing her arms over her chest and staring him down.

“Two.”

Emma’s bounty hunter stare wasn’t _quite_ as effective with her fifteen-year-old face.

“Three.” David shook his head. “What was that you were saying about being an adult, Emma?” he stalked forward, and before Emma could react, lifted her up and tossed her over his shoulder. “Come on Killian.”

“Put me down!” Emma shouted, squirming in David’s grip. “This is ridiculous!”

“You want me to treat you like an adult, you need start acting like one.” David grunted as her knee thumped into his chest. He tightened his grip and swatted her. “And you better believe we’re going to have a long _talk_ when we get home.”

Killian really wasn’t sure what he ought to be doing in this situation. Defending Emma would probably result in some terrible fate befalling him.

“And you aren’t off the hook either, Killian, I’m damn sure Regina said something about you _not_ putting yourself into situations where Mr. Gold could spot you.”

He blinked. “Uh…”

“Just get in the truck.”

Killian got in the truck.

David dropped Emma into the passenger’s seat once Killian scooted into the middle, buckling her in. Emma flushed. “I could have done that myself.”

David raised an eyebrow at her and closed the door, walking around the driver’s side.

Emma tried to reassure herself that she wasn’t pouting, but it wasn’t working. Killian, stuck between David and Emma, was feeling more than just a little bit awkward and he had a feeling that once they got “home” it was going to get a lot more awkward.

He really, _really_ , needed some rum.

***

David dropped Killian off at Regina’s and then drove his wayward daughter home. He’d updated Snow and Belle on the current situation so they could begin looking into Emma’s lead. Emma though, was starting to feel…odd. As they parked in front of the apartment building, she felt like her stomach was suddenly home to a thousand angry butterflies.

She just sat in the truck as David got out, staring at the dash. David was halfway to the door before he realized she hadn’t followed him. He raised his eyebrows. “Emma, let’s go.”

Emma blinked, coming out of her zone and getting out of the truck. She slammed the door closed and trudged toward her father. As she looked up at him, she had the strangest feeling. For a moment, the briefest of seconds, she had no idea who he was. Emma shook off the sensation and kept walking. _It’s nothing._

David held the door open for her and had her walk in front of him up the stairs and into the apartment. David closed the door—it reminded Emma of a prison door closing. The butterflies hadn’t let up and now her legs felt like they were made of lead. David took off his jacket and shoulder holster and taking a seat on the couch. Emma wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. She fiddled with her hair, chewing on her lip.

“You know what you did was wrong, Emma.” David gave her a hard look. “That’s why you snuck off. I thought we were past you trying to do everything by yourself—and no, Hook doesn’t count as a chaperone given that he is _also_ under the influence of this magic we don’t understand.”

Emma flushed. “I don’t need a chaperone.”

“We’re not rehashing old arguments. Come here.” He pointed at the spot in front of his feet.

“You…you’re _not_ going to—”

“ _Come here._ ”

Emma took a step forward and then paused. Was she _really_ going to just let him do whatever he wanted? She hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d found a lead.

“Do we need to go through the counting again, Emma?” David raised his eyebrows.

“No, because we aren’t doing _any_ of this. I’m going to the library.” She turned, heading for the door.

David sighed, standing up and crossing the room. He picked her up and carried her back to the couch, ignoring her disgruntled swearing and demands to be put down. He did put her down, keeping a firm hold on her arm as he sat back down on the couch and then tugging her over his lap. She grunted as her stomach made contact with his knees.

“Let me go!”

“Nope.” David adjusted her position a bit, eyeing her clothes. She’d been sticking to leggings these last few days—Storybrooke didn’t exactly have a _mall_ , and everyone had thought this whole business would be over by now. Emma hadn’t even wanted to _consider_ a new wardrobe. Regardless, the thin cotton wasn’t going to offer much protection against his intended course of action.

Once he had her exactly where he wanted her, and was reasonably sure she couldn’t wriggle away, he started spanking. Emma hollered and squirmed—and got exactly nowhere.

“You just vanished, Emma. Until Ruby called…I didn’t know what had happened to you.” He swatted harder. “Anything could have happened, Emma. For all we know someone is behind this. Someone who wants to steal your power or hurt you.”

Emma kicked, still trying to get free. But even as she struggled, his words filtered down and the guilt she’d felt before was back in full force. She hadn’t really considered how he felt. How Snow would feel coming downstairs to find her and Killian gone—and she felt bad about leaving Henry to deal with the fallout. That wasn’t fair to him.

She just—being back in this body made it hard for her to forget what things had been like when she was really fifteen. The foster homes. Being ignored by her foster-parents. Constantly moving around from home to home until ran away for good and ended up with Neal. It was hard not to look in the mirror and forget that she’d found her parents. She had a family that loved her. And she didn’t know how to explain that to her parents. She didn’t want to hurt them.

And she’d gone and done that today anyhow.

The building heat from the spanking wasn’t getting any easier to bear either. No matter how she squirmed, kicked or shouted, he wasn’t letting up—and he hadn’t stopped lecturing either.

“We’ve tried talking, and clearly that wasn’t working, so I hope this gets through to you, Emma. I will not lose you, not even to your own stubbornness.”

Emma was on the verge of tears.

“Are you listening to me, young lady?” He tipped her forward, smacking her thighs.

“Yes,” she whined. “I—I’m sorry. I just…I don’t want to be in this body anymore. I don’t want to look in the mirror and see a scared little girl. I want _me_ back.” She couldn’t keep the tears back any more. “I’m sorry.”

“Shh,” David stopped spanking, moving to rub her back gently. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” Gingerly, he got her turned around and upright, wrapping his arms around her. “I forgive you, I know you’re scared.” He kept rubbing her back. “We’re going to fix this, Emma.”

Emma buried her face in his chest, clinging to him. “Why do these things always happen to us? Why can’t we just have a little bit of normal?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart, but we’ll figure this out. We always do.” He pet her hair. “I promise.”

If there was one thing she _did_ know, it was that her father kept his promises.

Her sore posterior was proof of that.

_I’m definitely, definitely, never letting him spank me again._ Even if she did like this whole cuddling thing after. _Never again._


	4. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma finally meets the visitors from Wonderland.
> 
> *Ware - Spanking & threat of spanking

“So…” Regina drawled, “you and Emma had a little excursion to the well.”

Killian was always at least partially intimidated by Regina, but given his current state, he was somewhat more intimidated than usual. His lack of weaponry was no help either. “Mayhaps we did, and we did find a lead. So it was fruitful.”

She pressed her lips together, raising one perfect eyebrow. “I see.”

Killian couldn’t hold her gaze as he would normally, and it frustrated him to no end. It felt as though his will had shrunk down. He _had_ shrunk down. He was smaller now. Being smaller had never benefited him. When he _was_ this young, he had Liam as protector and confidant. He’d never been alone—until Neverland.

Perhaps the worst thing about being forced to look at his younger self, was expecting to see Liam at any moment, whole and happy.

“I’m sure we’ll go over that information later,” Regina said finally. “In the mean time, I think you need something to occupy your free time.”

Killian’s brow furrowed. “Eh?”

“You may not be my son, but you are my responsibility. I intend to make sure you aren’t murdered while stuck in that form, if that means I have to keep you busy, I will.”

“No, see here—”

“You,” she continued on, ignoring him, “will be spending all of your free time with Robin. You’ll do whatever he asks you to do. Clean the stables, chop wood—I don’t care. He asks, you do it.”

“That’s not fair!” Killian’s voice cracked, and he flushed.

Regina smiled. “I don’t care. I want you occupied. If Robin needs me, all he has to do is think of me. So even if Rumple does decide to take a stroll through the Merrymen’s camp, I can be there in a flash.”

Killian crossed his arms over his chest and grimaced. “I’m not a child, Regina.”

“Could’ve fooled me. Oh, and just so we’re clear.” Regina held his gaze. “When I say Robin is in charge, I mean it. Understand?”

Killian clenched his jaw. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Wonderful, now he was stuck as Robin’s errand boy. Just wonderful.

***

 Emma spun the coin, watching the silver disc become a globe for a brief moment before the coin wobbled and fell onto the table.

_“If there’s one thing I know about you, you don’t stop till you find what you’re looking for.”_

Neal’s voice echoed in her head. They’d been sitting at this table, Henry sleeping on the couch after a long day at the park.

She pressed her finger against the coin, moving it around the table in a loop. She wondered how Kilian was doing. _Probably a bit better than me._ At least no one was going to spank him when he got in trouble.

“Emma, are you hungry?” Snow asked.

She looked up from the coin and at her mother. “I dunno.”

Snow frowned. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

Emma sighed, sliding her arm across the table and dropping her head onto it. “I dunno.” Her hair fell in front of her face but she didn’t care enough to brush it away.

“I’m making sandwiches and cocoa,” Snow tempted.

Emma managed a one shouldered shrug.

The front door opened and David walked in, taking in the general scene with a furrowed brow. “How are my favorite ladies today?”

“Someone is feeling grumpy,” Snow said. “And I’m making lunch.” She looked at Emma and then back at David. “Do you want some cocoa, David?”

“Sure.” He walked over to the dining room table and tilted his head. “Hey princess. You feeling okay?”

At _princess_ she looked up, glaring at him through the veil of her hair. “I’m fine.”

“Do you want cheese?” Snow asked.

“Yes,” David replied. “Emma, do you want cheese on your sandwich?”

She pushed herself up, dragging the coin back across the table and pocketing it. “I’m not hungry.”

“You haven’t eaten anything today,” Snow said. “You can’t not eat you’re—”

“If you say a growing girl, I might scream.” Emma got up from the table. “I’m going to go lay down.”

David exchanged a look with Snow. Emma’s moodiness had been growing over the past couple days. Despite the new lead, things had stalled. A mysterious British girl named Dinah, at a well, wasn’t much to go on. It was disheartening. Letting Emma sulk wasn’t going to help anyone.

“Emma, you need to eat.” David took her by the arm and forced her to sit back down.

Emma grimaced. “I—”

“If the next words out of your mouth aren’t I want or I don’t want, cheese on my sandwich, you’ll be eating lunch with sore butt.”

She flushed. “I want cheese on my sandwich. Please.”

“Okay then,” Snow smiled, “three ham and cheese sandwiches coming right up.”

***

“Killian, I need a hand with this firewood,” Robin called. “Come along, lad.”

Killian frowned, setting aside the bit of tack he’d been oiling. He’d spent most of his time these past few days irritated with everyone at large. He hadn’t seen Emma since the well and he was worried. Being forced to assist Robin Hood and his band wasn’t making any of it easier. Every time he went to complete a task he was used to doing with ease and struggled, he was reminded all over again that magic had once again taken a toll on his life.

He stood, trudging over to Robin and picking up an armload of firewood. “Aren’t there laws against this sort of servitude?” Killian muttered.

“Not where you’re concerned,” Robin replied.

Killian rolled his eyes. “You know, if I was in my proper form, I would challenge you to a duel.”

Robin snorted. “A duel?”

“Yes, a duel.” Killian tried to ignore the twinge of annoyance at Robin’s amusement. “I’m certain I could take you, _thief._ ”

“Says the teenaged pirate.” Robin laughed.

The laughing is what did it. Some little thread of self-control snapped. Killian dropped his load of firewood, turned to Robin and tackled him with a roar of anger. Sure, he wasn’t the man he’d been, but even as a teenager, Killian had been scrappy.

They grappled amongst the fallen firewood. Finally, Little John intervened, pulling the gangly teen off Robin with a grunt of effort. “All right, enough of that.” He dropped Killian a bit of a ways from Robin, giving the pirate a stern look. “What’s gotten in your head?”

Killian shook his head. “That’s none of your concern.”

Robin picked himself off the ground and stalked toward Killian. The last time someone looked at Killian the way Robin was looking at him, it ended in a brawl. He balled up his fists in preparation for a fight. But Robin didn’t come out swinging. He walked straight up to Killian, and grabbed him by the arm. Without a word, the prince of thieves dragged Killian over to the nearest tree stump and sat down, tugging Killian over his lap.

Killian realized a moment too late what Robin’s intent was. The last time he’d been in this position, it’d been Liam’s lap—after a spectacularly ill thought out night of drinking. He was grateful for the protection his borrowed jeans offered a moment later when Robin started smacking him across the seat of his pants.

“Oy, what’s the big idea!” Killian shouted, trying and failing to squirm away.

“You, my lad, have been sullen, barely cooperative and entirely too reckless. You ought to have gotten this after that stunt at the well.”

Killian was _not_ amused. “I’m not a bloody child, and more’s the point, you’ve no right!”

“Regina put you in my care, which gives me the right.” Robin kept smacking. “You’re in a tough spot, I’ll give you that, but you need to stop taking it out on everyone else.”

Killian screwed up his eyes and refused to say another word. Robin didn’t go on much longer, relatively confident he’d gotten his point across. He let Killian up, eyeing the teenager’s expression as he stood up.

“I trust we won’t have to revisit this anytime soon.” Robin raised his eyebrows.

Killian nodded once.

“Good, then help me gather up this firewood.”

Killian sighed. They needed to fix this—before anyone else got parental ideas about him.

***

The next day, everyone met at the library for a quick debrief. Emma almost immediately went straight to Killian’s side. “How are you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Could be worse. They’ve got me playing servant down at Robin’s camp. To keep me out of mischief, or so they say.”

Emma wrinkled her nose. “Ugh.”

“A perfect response.” He threw an arm over her shoulders. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to put up with.”

“It hasn’t been a picnic for me either.” She bit her lip, watching as the “adults” gathered around the table for their little war table. “Have you—there’ve been a few times this week when I just…I forget things. Little things.”

Killian swallowed. “Aye. It’s just for a short time but…I fear what it could herald.”

Emma nodded. “We have to find that little girl. We have to return the wish.” She sighed. “I don’t think she’s even in this world.”

Killian grimaced. “I fear you may be right.”

“Emma,” Snow said. “Are you going to come to the table?”

Emma sighed. “I don’t see much point.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “We’ve gone over all of this a thousand times.”

“That doesn’t mean we won’t find something new _now_ ,” her mother replied.

“Whatever.” Emma stayed put.

“Maybe if I write down what happened,” Henry started, “we might get some new details?” He pulled out the Author’s pen and a blank page of story book paper.

Emma brightened a touch. “That could work.”

“Okay.” Henry smiled and cleared a space at the table to write.

“While he’s working on that, do you want to get some fresh air?” David looked at Emma. “I know it’s been hard being cooped up all the time.”

Emma considered this for a moment. “Can I go with Mom?”

Snow nodded. “Sure, sweetie.” She got up from the table. “Come on, we’ll have a nice walk.” She held out her hand.

Emma smiled at Killian before heading after her mother. It had threatened rain earlier, but the sky was clear enough now as they strolled around the block.

“There anything you want to talk about?” Snow asked. “I know this has been really hard on you. You’re too much like your father to want to sit on the sidelines. Too much like both of us.”

“I know you and dad are worried someone might hurt me because I’m…” She made a face. “Like this.”

“Of course we are.” Snow looked her in the eye. “I worry someone might hurt you even when you’re all grown up. You’re my daughter, I’ll always worry about you.” She put a hand on Emma’s cheek. “That’s what parents do.”

Emma flushed. “It’s just that…I have to look at this face in the mirror. I haven’t felt like this since Neverland. Like an orphaned little girl.”

“Oh, Emma.” Snow quickly wrapped her arms around her. “I’m sorry. I never wanted you to have to feel this way.”

“I know.” Emma blinked back tears. “I just can’t help it.”

“It’s not your fault.” Snow stroked her hair. “I’ve got you, baby.” They stayed like that for a long moment, until Emma had calmed down. “You want to head back now?”

Emma nodded.

“Okay.” Snow pulled away, taking Emma’s hand. “You’ll see, we’ll fix this.”

As they made back to the library, Emma got her first look at the visitors from Wonderland. At least, that’s who she assumed they were. She’d seen the man before, Will Scarlet, though he was dressed a bit less punk than the last time she’d seen him. The woman was tall, brunette, and wearing a blue dress that would have looked more appropriate in the Victorian era.

Except Emma recognized her too. _From the vision in the well._ This was the little girl’s mother. Dinah’s mother.

The woman noticed Emma was staring and frowned. “Can I help you?”

“I’m sorry—I just, do you have a daughter named Dinah?”

“Yes!” The woman stepped closer to Emma. “Have you seen her?”

“Uh…sort of. I was hit with some magic from the town wishing well and when I went back to see what had caused it I saw a vision in the water of you and her at another wishing well.” Emma swallowed. “Her wish did this—I mean. I’m not a teenager. I’m an adult.”

“I see. That is most peculiar. I recall the day you speak of. The wishing well…” She took a breath. “Oh, how rude of me. I’m Alice. This is Will. We’re looking for my husband and daughter, you see they vanished and the White Queen told me that I would find the trail here. In Storybrooke.”

Emma blinked. “Missing?” She looked at Snow. “So all of this is connected.”

“If it is, then unraveling your mystery will help me find my family.” Alice nodded confidently and held out a hand. “Partners?”

Emma didn’t hesitate, taking the woman’s hand. “Partners.”

Snow sighed. “Well, if we’re going to be working together, we should pool our information.”

“Agreed.” Alice nodded.

Finally, Emma felt like they were actually getting somewhere.

 _I can’t stay like this much longer._ She swallowed, following the others into the library. It was more than just little moments of forgetfulness that plagued her. She had a real fear that one morning she would wake—and have no idea who her parents were. She was already missing things. Days from her first year in Storybrooke. Playing along when her dad brought up an adventure.

The magic of the well was not yet done, and with her memories, Killian’s memories, fading…they had to hurry.

She reached into her pocket, touching the wish coin. _Just a few more days. Please._

 _Just a few more days._  


	5. White Rabbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot moves forward...

Henry had finished writing by the time Emma and the others headed inside the library, and Killian at least looked somewhat hopeful.

“Alice,” David said. “I thought you and Will were with Jefferson.”

“We ran into your wife and daughter,” Alice said. “And it seems our problems may be intertwined.” She nodded at Emma, who quickly filled everyone in.

“All right, that might all connect with what I’ve written,” Henry said. “Here, Mom.” He held the pages out to Emma.

“Thanks.” Emma looked began flipping through the pages.

_Dinah threw her coin into the well, closed her eyes and wished with all her might._

It didn’t say what she’d wished for though. Emma continued to read. It was all there, her and Killian’s transformation, Alice and Will arriving in Storybrooke and…Dinah. Emma raised her eyebrows and handed the page in question to Alice.

Alice took it, brow furrowed. “Except what no one knew, was that little Dinah had fallen through a looking glass—she had been taken away to Wonderland,” Alice read. She looked at Will. “But you _searched_. Anastasia searched. If Dinah and Cyrus were in Wonderland we should have found them already.”

Will frowned. “I can check in with Ana. Maybe she’s heard something new.”

Alice nodded.

“But the pages don’t mention Cyrus,” Emma said. “Are you sure they’re together?”

“No, and that worries me most of all.” Alice returned the page.

Emma sighed, handing the pages off to Snow and shaking her head. “So what’s next then? We go to Wonderland?”

“Absolutely not.”

Snow and David spoke near simultaneously.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I’ll talk to Rabbit,” Will said. “We’ll see if Ana has any news before we make any decisions.”

Robin gave Will a look. “You certainly are—different from the man I remember.”

Will flashed a smile. “That’s because the Will you last met? He didn’t have a heart.” He nodded to Alice and slipped outside.

“The pages confirmed what you saw in your vision, Mom,” Henry said. “If you return the wish to Dinah, the magic will be undone.”

“Great.” Emma exhaled. “Now we just have to find her.”

“Wonderland is perilous,” Killian said. “Though not as perilous as Neverland.”

“And far less so now that it once was,” Alice added. “The Jabberwocky moved on and the White Queen has brought prosperity.” She shook her head. “It anyone there knows for certain if Dinah is Wonderland, it will be Caterpillar. His network stretches across the entire land. And with the Queen of Hearts gone, the Queen of Diamonds rules those lands. She’s far more stable. And less prone to stealing people’s hearts.”

Regina made a face in agreement.

Alice frowned, glancing at Killian. “I’m sorry, but I have the strangest feeling you and I have met.”

“Aye, lass, we have. Though I was taller and more swashbuckling at the time. Also, I had a hook.” He raised his hand, wriggling his fingers in demonstration.

“Captain Hook?” She raised her eyebrows. “So you were effected by the same magic?”

“You have it one.” He smiled ruefully. “I was with Emma when the well exploded.”

“I suppose you’re all lucky no one else was there.”

Emma nodded. “Usually it’d be at least half the town.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Okay, well, until we know for certain if Dinah is in Wonderland, we can’t make any decisions,” Snow said. “Alice, are you staying with Jefferson?”

“Yes, he’s been kind enough to offer lodging.”

“All right, we’ll call him if we learn anything new. For now, we wait.”

Emma sighed. _Great._ Because they could _totally_ afford to wait.

***

“Emma, breakfast!”

Emma sat in the middle of her bed, flipping through pictures on her phone. “Town hall, Regina’s house, Sherriff’s station,” she said softly. “Ruby, Granny’s diner…” She bit her lip, staring at the next photo. She took a deep breath and shook her head, tossing the phone aside.

“Emma?” Snow called. “Sweetie are you up?” She headed up the stairs, spotting Emma on the bed and frowned. “Emma, what’s wrong?”

Emma looked up, tears in her eyes. “Mom.” _I haven’t forgotten her yet. I haven’t forgotten Dad or Henry._ Though she had forgotten three of the dwarves, but she’d managed to get the information.

“Hey,” Snow hurried over to the bed and sat down, putting a hand on Emma’s leg. “Honey?”

“I—I’m forgetting things.” She looked Snow in the eyes. “People. Places.” She bit her lip.

“Oh no.”

“I thought maybe it was just being distracted or stressed but…” She picked her phone back up. “I can’t remember who this is.”

Snow took the phone and looked at the photo in question. “Sweetheart, that’s Neal, Henry’s father.”

Emma blinked, trying to make the connection before shaking her head. “I don’t remember him. Oh my god I don’t remember my own son’s father.” She put her hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking as she started to cry.

Snow pulled her daughter into her arms. “Shh, it’s okay. We’ll fix this baby.”

“Snow?” David called. “What’s going on?” He was the next person up the stairs, taking in the scene with a concerned eye. “Emma? What’s wrong?”

Snow looked up at him. “She can’t remember who Neal is.”

David’s lips parted in surprise. “I’ll call Regina.”

Snow nodded. “Call Blue too, we need to check on Killian as well.”

“Of course.” David nodded and immediately pulled out his phone and started dialing.

Emma burrowed closer to her mother, resting her head on her shoulder. She just wanted this to be over. She wanted to be in her old body, with all her memories. Why was that so much to ask?

***

“Well,” Regina pressed her lips together, “the magic has definitely impacted both of their memories. I have an unfortunate amount of expertise in the area.”

“Can we stop it?” Snow asked.

“I don’t think so. And I’m not even completely sure what they’ll forget. They’re memories could be resetting to their current ages which…I imagine will cause all sorts of issues.” Regina shook her head. “As near as I can tell they could continue at the rate of memory decay they’re currently at…or they could both wake up one morning and have lost everything.”

Emma swallowed. “Isn’t there something you can do? _Anything_ you can do?”

Regina took a breath before responding. “Well, I could give you and Killian a new set of memories. Placeholders. I would need pixie dust and perhaps some help from Henry.”

“That doesn’t sound better,” Emma said.

Killian nodded. “I have to agree.”

“Look at it this way, there are three options here. Worst case, you end up empty shells, like Belle did after crossing the town line. Second worst case, you revert to the memories you had at the ages your bodies currently are. I have a feeling neither one of your teenage selves will feel cooperative with people you don’t know.” She gave Emma and Killian sharp looks.

They couldn’t deny that.

“And then there’s option three. I give you a set of memories that give you something to cling to. Explanations for who these people are and why you are here.”

Emma couldn’t argue that option three was more sensible. “We might not need it,” Emma argued. “We could find Dinah and return the wish before it becomes relevant.”

“I don’t think we can risk leaving the decision to wait until you’ve lost your memories,” David said. “We should be prepared.”

“I agree,” Regina said. “So we’ll prep now and hope we don’t need the spell. All right?”

“Fine.” Killian raised his eyebrow at her. “But you better preserve my natural charm. I don’t want to end up like I was the last time someone altered my memories.”

“Noted.” Regina only just refrained from rolling her eyes. “Henry, let’s get started.”

“Sure thing, Mom.” Henry gave Emma a quick hug. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you’re still a total bad-ass.”

“Thanks, kid.” Emma hugged him back, watching him walk off with Regina. “I hope we don’t actually need this spell.”

Killian nodded. “I don’t care for having my brains scrambled.”

“It’s a last resort,” David said, putting a hand on Emma’s shoulder and squeezing. “Right now, we’ve got an appointment with Alice at Jefferson’s place.”

Emma nodded. “Well, let’s go. We should try to get as far as we can in the investigation while—while Killian and I are still all here.”

“Aye.”

David nodded and they headed out.

***

Jefferson looked a great deal better than he had the last time Emma saw him. His hair was combed, his clothes neat and a smile on his face. She could only assume that it something to do with his daughter, now in her teens, who was sitting in the living room reading a book.

“Well now,” Jefferson raised his eyebrows. “When they said you’d been hit by magic, I didn’t quite imagine this.”

“Shut up,” Emma grumbled. “Will? You have news?”

“Ah, yes. I heard back from Ana.” Will nodded. “She hasn’t been able to find Dinah, but she has found Cyrus, he’s in Wonderland, safe and sound.”

“All right, does Cyrus have any idea where Dinah might be?” Emma asked.

“He’s looking, but he could use more help.” Will shook his head. “Alice is going to head there today and I plan to join her. There’s every chance that Dinah _is_ in Wonderland. If Cyrus is there, Dinah is too.”

“Then we’re coming with you.” Emma raised her chin. “I’ve got magic and Killian has a good sense of direction.”

“Absolutely not.”

Emma shook her head. “I know you don’t want me to go,” she looked at her parents, “but I won’t be going alone. You could even come along.”

“No,” David shook his head. “You could lose all your memories any day. We can’t risk that.”

“That’s exactly _why_ Killian and I should go.” Emma squared her shoulders, looking her father in the eye. “ _I_ have to return the wish. It’ll be a hell of a lot faster if I don’t have to wait for anyone to bring Dinah back here.”

“The answer is still no.”

“I agree with your father,” Snow said.

“Of course you do.” Emma shook her head. “This is ridiculous. I fought a dragon you know. By myself. I’m pretty sure I can handle Wonderland surrounded by other people.”

“And I’ve battled high seas, mermaids—Peter Pan,” Killian added. “We’re not lambs being led to the slaughter.”

“Emma, we’re not discussing this further right now,” David looked at Killian, “And you aren’t going to convince me either.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” If her parents thought this discussion was over…they had another thing coming. She _was_ going to Wonderland. She was going to find Dinah, and then this magic would be reversed and everything could go back to normal.

The end.

***

A few hours later, Emma had half a plan. Her parents were out, having left her with Leroy and Sleepy. Regina had stopped by earlier to drop off the spell, which took the form of a highly polished stone strung on a long leather strip. Regina had tied it around Emma’s neck and used magic to make sure it wouldn’t fall off.

Emma kept tugging at it to make sure. She couldn’t even find a knot now, it was a singular loop. She assumed Killian was wearing one too.

With the spell in hand and the dwarves watching her, it was the perfect time. She padded down the stairs and eyed Sleepy—who was predictably asleep. Leroy was in the kitchen, eating a sandwich.

“Hey kid,” Leroy said. “You want a sandwich.”

“No thanks.” She eyed the door and then glanced back at Leroy. “I’m not hungry.” Her jacket and her bag were by the door. She took a deep breath, tapping into her magic. She might not have used her sleeping spell on Ruby and Robin and the well, but she didn’t really have a choice this time.

 _You can do this._ She took another deep breath, concentrated on what she wanted to accomplish. Emma threw out her hand, white light flew out of her fingertips and wrapped around Leroy’s head. He slumped down face first into his sandwich.

Emma hurried over, checking him quickly. Once she was certain he wasn’t going to suffocate, she grabbed her coat and bag. Next up, she needed to get Killian. She hadn’t done that smoke out thing Regina was so good at, but she understood the practice. Emma closed her eyes. She just had to think of a person or place and concentrate…

“Emma?”

She opened her eyes, finding herself in Regina’s kitchen. She spotted Killian and then Regina. “Oh, hi. I…don’t really know how I got here.”

Regina raised her eyebrows. “Well you appeared in a puff of smoke.”

“Right.” Emma stepped toward Killian. “I was thinking about you.” She looked at him.

“That was quite impressive, love,” Killian said.

“If it wasn’t on purpose, why do you have your bag? Weren’t the dwarves looking after you?” Regina asked.

“Uh…” Emma grabbed Killian’s hand. “No reason.”

“Emma—”

_Alice. I need to get to Alice._

Regina moved to grab the pair, only for them to vanish in a whirl of white smoke. Regina sighed. “Great. Where the hell are they going?”

***

“Alice!” Emma shouted, running up to the woman. “We’re here to go with you.” She took the giant rabbit in stride.  

Alice blinked. “Wonderful. You convinced your parents to let you go?”

“Well, in spite of appearances, we _are_ adults.” Emma grinned. “I talked them around.”

Will didn’t look completely convinced of this. “All right then, but they aren’t coming to see you off?”

“We already did the goodbye thing,” Emma replied.

“Well then,” Rabbit said. “We should be off.” He nodded sharply and opened the portal. “Come along then.”

Emma eyed the swirling blue vortex a moment before turning to Killian. “You okay with this?”

He shrugged and then smiled. “It’s better than waiting around here.” He took her hand. “Let’s go.”

Rabbit jumped in and then Alice and Will. Emma took a deep breath, eyeing the portal. “Here goes nothing.” As they made to jump, Regina appeared, eyes going wide at the sight of the portal.

“Oh no you don’t,” she shouted.

Emma didn’t wait, jumping and dragging Killian after her before Regina could stop them.

Regina raked a hand through her hair with a dramatic sigh. “I will not curse them…I won’t. That would be wrong.” The portal was still open, but closing fast. “To hell with it.” She took a couple of steps back to get a running start, and leapt into the portal just before it vanished, leaving behind a hole in the pavement.


	6. Fail Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Killian arrive in Wonderland.

Emma picked herself up off the grass, eying the brightly colored landscape. She was pretty sure a bush next to road was growing…marshmallows?

“Looks like we’ve landed near the mallow marsh,” Alice said, brushing off her skirt. “Is everyone here?”

“Aye,” Killian said, pulling himself out of a bush. There were marshmallows stuck all over him like briars. “The landing could use some work, Rabbit.”

“My apologies, I don’t know why that keeps happening.” Rabbit shrugged. “Come along then, the Queen is waiting for us.”

There was a rustling as someone else emerged from the shrubs. Regina plucked a marshmallow from her shirt, leveled a _very_ irritated look at the two miscreants and stalked forward.

“What, in the hell, do you two think you’re doing?”

“Helping Alice find Dinah,” Emma replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You have done a great many idiotic things since I met you, Miss Swan, but this might well be _the_ worst plan you’ve ever had.” Regina looked at Killian. “And as for the pocket-sized pirate, I’m quite certain you’ve lost your mind if you think this is going to slide. _Now_ we’re all going back to Storybrooke. Rabbit, open another portal.” Regina glanced at the now shaky lagomorph. “If you please.”

“Now see here,” Killian protested, “we’ve as much right to be here as anyone else.”

Alice and Will exchanged uncertain looks. Alice wasn’t a stranger to doing things behind her father’s back. She’d come to Wonderland often enough. “We could use your help, Regina,” Alice said. “Truly. The faster we find my daughter, the faster we can break this spell on Emma and Killian.”

Regina sighed. If she didn’t go along with it, there was every chance Emma would just poof out again, and chasing the teenaged sorceress all over Wonderland wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time. Emma seemed oddly _more_ confident in her magic since she was hit with the wish magic. Regina sighed. The girl was family and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

“Please, Regina?” Emma added. She looked up at the woman, eyes wide.

Regina was suddenly terrifyingly reminded of Henry. “Fine. But you do as I say. If you get hurt, your mother will never forgive me.”

“Don’t worry.” Emma smiled. “It’s all going to turn out.”

Regina had a sinking feeling that wasn’t quite true. And if Emma thought she was going to escape consequences for this misadventure simply by returning to her adult form, well, she had another thing coming.

***

Back in Storybrooke, Snow and David returned home to find Emma gone and her chaperones fast asleep. Without pausing to wake the dwarves, the pair rushed to Regina’s house—only to find Robin and Henry looking nearly as confused.

Robin took one look at the couple and sighed. “Let me guess, Emma is missing?”

“Yes,” David said. “Killian too then?”

“And my mom,” Henry added. “Well, both of them I guess.”

“Maybe Regina went after them?” Snow suggested. “They must have gone to join Alice. Where were they leaving from?” She adjusted her grip on baby Neal.

“They’ve gone already,” Robin said. “I bid goodbye to Will some hours ago. If Regina had caught up with Emma and Killian, she’d have returned with them.”

“All right then…we just have to find a way to get to Wonderland.” Snow shook her head. “Without the town’s most powerful magic users.”

“And asking Grandpa probably isn’t a good idea,” Henry added. “What about Jefferson? Maybe we could fix his hat?”

“At this point, I’m willing to try anything.” David nodded. “Let’s go.”

The remaining Charmings, plus Robin—who paused to grab his bow, headed over to Jefferson’s house. His daughter Grace was outside on the front porch reading when they walked up.

“Hey Henry,” she said. “What’s up?”

“Is your dad home?” Henry asked.

“Yeah.” She retrieved her bookmark, closing her book on it and hopped up out of her chair. “I’ll show you in.” Grace led the way into the house, calling for her father.

Jefferson appeared a moment later, eying his visitors. “What do I owe this visit to?”

“Emma and Killian took off to Wonderland, we need to follow them,” David replied. “I don’t suppose you ever got that hat working?”

“Mine? No.” Jefferson shook his head. “That hat…it won’t make another trip.” His brow furrowed in contemplation. “Though…there is Emma’s hat.”

Snow raised her eyebrows. “Emma’s hat?”

“The hat she made for me when I was…unstable. It has magic. It could work.” He beckoned. “Come on.”

Snow remembered the hat in question vaguely. While she’d come to forgive Jefferson for kidnapping her, it wasn’t in particular something she liked to remember.

In his hat room, Emma’s hat was placed off on its own little pedestal. Jefferson picked it up, flipping it upside down with a flick of the wrists. “Here it is.”

Henry stepped forward, peering at the hat curiously. “Mom made this?”

“With a bit of help, yes.” Jefferson licked his lips. “Emma managed to put magic into this hat _before_ magic was back in Storybrooke. Magic’s been here long enough that the hat should be charged enough.”

“What do we do next then?” Snow asked.

“We see if it works.” Jefferson walked out into the living room—which had more floor space. “Emma wasn’t quite the sorceress she is now, so there’s no telling what we’re going to see.” He set the hat on the floor and took a deep breath. “Cross your fingers.” He touched the brim gingerly, lower lip caught in his teeth, and spun the hat. He stood, taking a few steps back.

The hat continued to spin, gathering speed before bluish smoke began to spiral away from the hat.

“That looks familiar,” Snow said.

“It’s working.” Jefferson smiled. “All right, everyone coming along should join hands.”

Snow quickly handed baby Neal to Henry. “Call Ruby and the dwarves, okay? Make sure you don’t say anything to your grandfather and if there’s an emergency Belle can handle it.”

“I thought I was coming with you,” Henry protested.

“Sorry, buddy,” David said. “But with Regina and Emma not here, we need you here in case Rumple does something…evil. Think you can keep him in check?”

Henry sighed. “I guess.”

“Thanks.” Snow smiled. “All right, let’s go.”

“I’ll go with you, Little John can look after Roland for a day.” Robin looked at Henry. “Could you get him a message for me?”

“Of course.” Henry smiled. “I’ll handle everything.”

“Thanks, Henry.”

The adults joined hands and leapt into the portal, leaving Grace, Henry and Neal alone in the house.

“So…” Grace glanced at Henry. “You want to play Scrabble?”

***

Emma couldn’t quite believe how _bright_ everything was in Wonderland. The White Queen’s palace was built of stone that looked like pearl with delicate towers and flying buttresses. Everyone Emma saw looked—happy. The Queen herself—dressed in a flowing white gown—greeted Will with a kiss, and Alice with a hug.

“I’m so sorry about your little girl, Alice.” She shook her head. “We will find her. I have the entire kingdom on the lookout.”

“Thank you, Anastasia. And where is Cyrus?”

“Here!” The tall curly haired man rushed into the room, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing her. “I’ve missed you, my love.”

“And I you. How did you end up here?”

Cyrus shrugged. “I’m not sure. I woke near the Dandy-Lion.”

Alice frowned. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“Things in Wonderland rarely do.” Cyrus smiled. “And who is it you’ve brought with you?”

“That is an interesting story.” Alice quickly provided introductions and filled Cyrus in on Emma and Killian’s predicament.

“Well,” Anastasia eyed the teenagers. “That is _quite_ the misadventure. Let’s see if we can’t correct this magical disaster.” She stepped forward, sleeves fluttering. “I must say, I’ve encountered wishes before, usually True Love’s kiss is enough to sort it out.”

Emma shrugged. “I have a feeling this magic has special circumstances.”

Ana stepped closer, focusing on the polished stones Emma and Killian wore around their necks. “This is interesting magic.”

“It’s an emergency spell,” Regina said. “They may have failed to mention that they’ve been slowly losing their memories.” She gave Emma a sharp look. “We don’t know how much they’ll lose.”

Emma sighed. “Which means we need to move faster.”

Ana turned to Regina, a slight frown on her face. “You seem incredibly familiar. Regina, yes?”

“You may have met my mother.” Regina glanced at her. “Cora, she was the Queen of Hearts for a time.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, I know. Moving on, perhaps we can try a tracking spell.” Regina looked to Alice. “I’ll need a drop of blood and a map of the area.”

“A map, I can provide,” Ana said. “Tweedle dear, could you fetch me that map?”

“Of course.”

“Are you sure about this magic?” Cyrus asked. “In my experience, it doesn’t always work the way you’d like it to.”

“It’s a reliable spell,” Regina replied. “And if Dinah is in Wonderland, this will find her far faster than a physical search.”

Tweedle returned with a map, setting it down on the table. Regina walked over, spreading it out and snagging a few chess pieces from the board on the table to weigh down the edges. She made a motion with her hand, summoning a silver lancet into her hand. “Alice?”

Alice swallowed, stepping forward and holding out her hand. Regina quickly pricked her finger and guided Alice’s hand over the map, squeezing the injury until a drop of blood feel onto the paper. Regina released Alice, waving her own hand over the map. The droplet began to move, forming a red line. The line seemed to be following a trail, starting at a point marked _Well of Wonders_ and then going and going and—falling off the side of the map.

“Well, that’s new.” Regina frowned.

“What does that mean?” Alice asked.

“It means your daughter _was_ here. We’ll have to go to her last known location to find out more, but she’s not in Wonderland anymore. If she was, it would have stopped.”

Cyrus shook his head. “I don’t understand how this happened.”

Alice moved to comfort him. “She’s alive, Cyrus. We know she’s alive.”

“That’s right,” Regina confirmed. “And we’ll find her.”

Emma turned away from the map. She felt guilty about being angry that Dinah wasn’t here, but she couldn’t help it. This magic had gone on long enough. And what in the world had the kid wished for anyhow? She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. “Hey Killian.”

The look in his eyes told her he understood exactly how she was feeling. “We’ll find her, love.”

Emma nodded, taking his hand and squeezing.

A guard hurried into the room, a bit red in the cheeks, stopping to bow to the queen. “Your majesty, we have visitors at the gate. They say they know Alice.”

“Visitors?” Ana blinked. “Did they give names?”

“Snow White, Robin Hood and David.”

Emma’s heart sank. _I am so dead._

“Yes, I know them,” Alice said. “I didn’t think they were coming, Emma?”

“I don’t even know _how_ they followed us without Rabbit,” Emma replied, turning her head. “Rabbit?”

“Not a clue, Miss Emma.”

Regina frowned. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

Emma exchanged another look with Killian. He didn’t look any happier than Emma did.

“Well, go fetch them in,” Ana said. “I’ve always rather wanted to meet Snow White.”

The guard bowed again and hurried back out.

Emma considered her options. She knew her parents weren’t going to be happy with her. She could always head toward Dinah’s last known location but she didn’t know the terrain. Frowning, she took a look around the room again, taking in more of the details. A small silver statuette caught her attention.

White spots flared in her field of vision and her head felt light. She swallowed and blinked, putting a hand on her head.

“Emma?” Regina stepped toward Emma, concern written on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I feel weird.”

The stone around her neck began to glow. Emma listed to one side. Regina jumped forward in time to catch the girl as she collapsed. A few moments later, Killian followed, Cyrus jumping in to keep him from hitting his head on the stone floor.

“Are they all right?” Ana asked.

Regina checked Emma’s pupils, but Emma didn’t respond. “They’re breathing.”

Which was how Snow, David and Robin arrived on the scene.

“Emma?” Snow cried. “Regina, is she all right?”

“Yes, but from the reaction of the pendants…I think we’re about to see if my fail safe works.”

“You mean their memories are gone,” David said.

“Not _gone_ exactly. If what I did worked, then they will still know who we all are.” Regina pushed Emma’s hair back. “We should put them both to bed for now and keep a close eye on them. It’s important that they don’t wake up alone.”

“Of course,” Ana clapped her hands together and Tweedle reappeared. “Darling, please show our friends to some rooms. I’m afraid they’re overtired.”

“Yes, majesty.”

David took charge of Emma, lifting her into his arms with ease. Robin helped Cyrus with Killian. The teens were carted off to bed while Regina stayed behind to continue planning next steps with Alice—hoping that her spell _had_ worked and that they weren’t about to have two amnesiacs on their hands.

Of course, even if it had worked, there was no telling how the memories would impact the pair’s personalities. She could only hope that she had done all that she could—and that they found Dinah soon. Breaking the wish magic was proving difficult enough, but Regina’s spell could have untold consequences as well.

Magic, after all, always came with a price.


	7. The More Things Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more they stay the same. 
> 
> Emma and Killian wake up.

Robin took first watch, as it were, over Killian. It was hard to believe the angel faced boy was the same swashbuckling fellow he’d first met in Storybrooke’s forest. He didn’t know much about Killian’s past, to be honest, beyond the bits of folklore he’d found while reading his own legends. The story of Captain Hook though, varied even further from Killian’s life than Robin’s stories did.

But he’d been around this teenaged version of Killian for some time now. He’d noticed Killian didn’t sleep very well. Noticed how he avoided looking into mirrors—thought he’d seen Emma do the same thing. One night though, stuck out to him. He and Regina and been up watching one of those movies made about him. He’d actually liked it, in spite of all the singing. After, they’d headed to bed, and as was his habit, Robin began checking the locks and looked in on Roland, Henry, and then Killian.

Killian was _not_ sleeping soundly, thrashing and calling out for Liam. Robin hadn’t the heart to just leave the fellow to his nightmare, and had quickly crossed the room to Killian’s bedside. He’d experience enough with Roland’s nightmares to know what to do here, even if Killian wasn’t a little boy. He carefully touched Killian’s shoulder, and when that didn’t get a volatile reaction he started rubbing gently. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “Just a bad dream. Hush now.”

Killian finally stilled, easing back into restful sleep. He’d not seemed to remember it the following morning, and Robin was hardly going to bring it up and embarrass the lad.

A rustling of bedclothes drew Robin’s attention back to the present—Killian seemed to be rousing at last. The teenager sat up, blinking blearily with his hair stuck up all over his head. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, catching sight of Robin as he lowered his hands.

“Killian?” Robin stood. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Killian looked around. “Where are we? I—how did I get here?”

“This is the White Queen’s castle, in Wonderland. You and Emma came here together, remember?”

Killian shook his head.

“Killian, do you know who I am?”

Those blue eyes stared at him, Killian’s brows raised in confusion. “Of course I know who you are, Uncle Robin. I just, I don’t remember coming to Wonderland. Why would we come here?”

Robin blinked. “To…reverse a spell that’s been cast.”

“Oh.” Killian got up out of bed. “I suppose that’s the usual, isn’t it? I’m starving, can we get something to eat?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Killian smiled. “Thanks.”

Robin watched the teenager head into the room’s attached facilities and turned his mind to the more pressing matter. _Uncle Robin._ What _exactly_ had Regina’s spell done?

***

Emma woke up next, with her parents watching in trepidation. She didn’t notice them at first, shuffling out of bed and stretching. She looked around, brow furrowed in confusion.

“This is not my room…” She spun slowly in place, taking in her surroundings. “Mom, Dad? What’s going on?”

Snow and David shared a look, half in relief and half in confusion.

Snow turned back to Emma. “You collapsed, sweetheart.”

“Collapsed where?” Emma raised her eyebrows. “Are we in the Enchanted Forest?”

“This is Wonderland,” David said. “You and Hook came here together, remember?”

Emma shook her head slowly. “Who is Hook?”

Snow swallowed. “He means Killian, sweetheart.”

“Just because you don’t like my boyfriend doesn’t mean you need to make up weird nicknames for him, Dad.” Emma rolled her eyes. “Why would we come to Wonderland?”

“We need Regina,” David said. “Right now.”

“Aunt Regina is here?”

“Yes,” Snow nodded slowly. “And Robin and a few other people. You really don’t remember coming here?”

“No.” Emma shook her head.

“I’m gonna get Regina,” David said.

Emma watched him leave. “Seriously Mom, what’s going on?”

Snow made a face. “Well—I’m not entirely sure. Let’s just wait for Regina.”  She flashed a smile. “Why don’t you get cleaned up and changed while we wait?”

“Okay…” Emma headed for the bathroom, surprised somewhat to find Wonderland had indoor plumbing. It was one of the White King’s initiatives after taking power. After all that time in Storybrooke he’d missed it. The populace embraced the change whole-heartedly. Will was a good king, as it turned out.

The bathroom was well-equipped with sundries, combs and hairbrushes—a small side room had a broad counter full of cosmetics. The White Queen enjoyed pampering her guests. Emma did make use of a brush, padding back into the main room in search of clothes.

“Did I pack a bag or something, Mom?”

“Uh…I think so.” Snow looked around, finally spotting the bag Emma had thrown together. She picked it up. “Here you are.”

Emma took the bag with a smile and started digging through it. “Did I pack this?”

“You did.” Snow nodded.

Emma frowned. “I wouldn’t wear any of this. I don’t even know why I’m wearing _this._ ” She gestured at her outfit. “What’s going on, Mom?”

“Well…why don’t you check the wardrobe? I’ll go see what’s taking your father so long.”

“Okay…” Emma watched her mother leave, frowning. There was definitely something going on and she didn’t like it. She set the bag aside and headed for the wardrobe. Throwing the doors open. It was packed full of things. She couldn’t believe the doors had even closed as stuffed as it was. There were glittering gowns, feathered concoctions and all manner of fairytale fantasies. Emma dug through the mass of fabric in frustration before shoving the doors closed again. She’d rather go naked. The wardrobe creaked, shaking a bit and the doors flew upon again—but the clothes were entirely different.

Emma blinked in surprise. This time there were no gowns, no frills. Her eyes went straight to the red leather jacket. She couldn’t quite explain it, but something about that jacket. She pulled the jacket out and smiled. She could work with this.

By the time Snow came back, David and Regina in tow, Emma was dressed. While Wonderland’s magic wardrobes didn’t know what blue jeans and t-shirts were, but the trousers and only _slightly_ frilled top were still better than a gown. And there were boots. The true miracle was that everything fit.

“Emma,” Regina greeted. “You’re awake.”

“Hey, so are _you_ going to tell me what’s going on?” Emma looked at Regina.

“That depends.” Regina frowned. “Why don’t you tell me what the last thing is you remember before you woke up here.”

“Well, I got done at work and then Killian picked me up to go see a movie…and then it’s kind of blank?”

Regina frowned. “Okay. Do you know who Henry is?”

“Your son? Of course I know who he is,” Emma smiled. “Why are guys being weird? Did something magicky happen again?”

“Yeah,” Regina nodded. “We’re in Wonderland to fix it.”

“Does it have something to do with my memory loss?” Emma frowned.

“Yes.” Regina nodded again. “And we’re going to fix it.”

“Oh.” Emma frowned and the room at large realized that even a memory altered, teenaged Emma—still had her lie-dar. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Regina smiled. “Why don’t we get breakfast? Snow?”

“That sounds great, Regina.” Snow nodded. “And we can talk all about what Emma remembers and figure out if she’s forgotten anything else.”

Emma frowned. There was _definitely_ something they were not telling her. And she was going to get to the bottom of it, one way or another.

***

At breakfast, which Ana had moved to a more private venue than her usual to give the concerned family some privacy, Regina pulled Snow, David and Robin aside while everyone else sat down to eat.

“Okay, so beyond Emma calling you Aunt Regina and Killian calling me Uncle Robin, I haven’t noticed anything significantly different,” Robin said.

“What exactly did you design your memory spell to do?” David asked.

“Well,” Regina took a breath. “I assumed they would be more cooperative if they knew us all and in general it would be easier if they weren’t in the dark regarding magic, the Enchanted Forest, you know.”

“That makes sense,” Snow said. “What else?”

“I thought given Emma and Killian’s mutually less than satisfactory childhoods that perhaps something more…normal was in order. I wasn’t sure it would work.”

“So Emma remembers what, growing up in Storybrooke? With us?” Snow licked her lips.

“Yes.” Regina nodded. “The details I had little control over. I asked Henry for help with Killian’s memories. So our little pirate remembers a childhood in Storybrooke as well. He’s been staying with us so I thought it would be simplest if that childhood included Robin and me.”

“I suppose that explains it,” Robin said. “What about his brother? His father?”

“At sea.” Regina shrugged. “It was the best I could do.”

“Well, as long as it keeps them from freaking out on us, I suppose it’s for the best.” David sighed. “We should take them back to Storybrooke and let Alice continue looking for Dinah.”

Back at the table, Killian and Emma were eating breakfast, but their attention was on the whispering adults.

“So this is all rather odd,” Killian said. “What do you think is really going on?”

“I don’ t know. I mean, they’re acting weird and I know there’s something they aren’t telling us.” Emma took a bite out of a sausage. “I say we find out what it is.”

“You do have magic,” Killian said with a sly smile. “We could suss it out.”

“True.” Emma smiled back. “Okay, after breakfast, we figure out what’s going on and why we don’t remember coming to Wonderland.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

By the time the adults joined them at the table, Killian and Emma and hashed out a quick plan of attack and innocently returned to eating breakfast.

“Well,” Regina eyed the impressive amount of food the teens were packing away. “At least you haven’t lost your appetites.”

“Take more than missing memories to do that,” Killian replied. “And what exactly do we need to do to break whatever magic it is that did…what exactly did the magic do we’re here to reverse?”

“Well it obviously took some of you and Emma’s memories,” Regina said. “Suffice it to say that we need to find a little girl named Dinah. Emma, you should have a coin?”

Emma frowned. “Yeah, I found it in my pocket this morning.”

“The coin is a wish that Dinah made, when you return it to her, the magic will break.” Regina looked Emma in the eye. “Easy.”

“Okay.” Emma pulled the coin on, eyeing it. “What else did this spell do?”

“Some of the town’s residents were turned into children.” Regina felt it was necessary to keep everything as vague as possible under the circumstances.

“Bloody hell,” Killian muttered. “Who?”

Regina glanced at Snow who shrugged.

“Ruby,” Snow said after a moment. “Technically she’s a _cub_ and Granny is handling it but we really do need to fix it.”

“Oh.” Emma blinked. “Yeah, we should fix that. Do we have a lead on where Dinah is?”

“Yeah, and you two are going to stay here while we find her,” David said. “You may not remember this, but you weren’t exactly _invited_ on this excursion.” He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed his daughter with a stare. “You snuck along.”

Emma swallowed. “But…we’re not in trouble, right? I mean, I don’t even remember doing anything wrong so I can’t be in trouble?”

“That is true,” Snow said. “It wouldn’t be fair.”

David sighed. “You stay here and behave and we’ll see.”

“That goes for you too, Killian,” Regina said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Emma?” David glanced at his daughter. “You _are_ going to stay here?”

Emma sighed dramatically. “ _Yes._ ”  Beneath the table though, she had her fingers cross. “I’ll stay here.”

“All right. Let’s go get Alice and help her find her daughter.”

Emma glanced at Killian. Yeah, they were _totally_ going to stay here and not go along and find out what was really going on.

Not.

***

The teenagers watched as everyone else set off out on an adventure, well, everyone except Ana and Will, who’d stayed behind ostensibly to watch said teenagers.

Ana smiled at Emma. “ _Darling_ , have you considered taffeta?”

Emma shook her head. “I know I’m _technically_ like a princess but…I’ve never really felt like wearing a fancy dress or anything.”

Ana frowned, wrinkling her nose. “You’ve never had a ball, have you?”

“Uh…no. I didn’t exactly grow up in a castle. I know my parents wanted that life for me but it’s just not who I am.” Emma smiled.

“Well, before you leave Wonderland, we’re having a party. We’ll have to celebrate when Dinah is found.” Ana smiled. “And darling, I will find a dress for you.”

“I’d rather like to see that,” Killian said.

“Uh huh.” Emma rolled her eyes. “We’ll see.”

“Well then kids,” Will cut in. “What shall we do while your families are off adventuring then?”

“I need fresh air,” Emma said. “Is there a garden or something?”

Will narrowed his eyes at her. “Why do I get the terrible feeling that you’re plotting something you shouldn’t be?”

“Great minds?” Emma smiled. “Really, I just want some air. All…this, it’s a lot.”

“That’s understandable, darling. There’s a garden. Will, don’t be so suspicious.” Ana put a hand on his shoulder. “The poor dears are just tired of being surrounded by grown-ups.” She smiled brightly. “It’s just down the main stairs and out the door.”

“Thanks.” Emma took Killian’s hand. “Come on.”

Ana and Will watched the pair hurry off and Will turned to his wife with raised eyebrows. “You do know they’re going to sneak off, don’t you?”

“Oh, darling,” she smiled. “Of course. They remind me of us.” She looked into his eyes. “Whether we let them into the garden or not they were going to run off. Besides, I need time alone to plan the party and find a dress for Emma.”

Will sighed. “I’ll go call for the Clothes Horse.”

“Thank you, darling.”


	8. According to Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone finds out a little bit more about Killian and Emma's new memories.

Emma and Killian, not having the map, were forced to follow the adults.

“You know what this reminds me of,” Killian remarked, “That time we got stuck in the past Enchanted Forest.”

“You mean where we almost destroyed my parents’ lives and kept me from being born?”

“Yeah.”

Emma snorted. “There’s one _little_ difference between this and then.”

“Oh?”

“ _That_ was completely by accident. This is more like that time we got sent back to the Enchanted Forest because Aunt Regina’s sister got all bitchy and then you and I took that little field trip.” Emma grinned. “ _That_ was fun.”

“Right up until Robin caught up with us,” Killian grumbled. “That part wasn’t so fun.”

Emma shrugged. “This time will be different.”

“You know, every time you say that something terrible happens to us.”

“You are completely exaggerating.”

He gave her a look. “You are so lucky you’re cute.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Jerk.”

“Come on, we don’t want to lose them. Maybe after they stop for the night we can sneak in, snag that map they’re using and then chart our own course.”

“That’s not a bad idea actually.” She smiled. “Let’s do that.”

Killian smiled back. “I suppose I ought to admit you don’t _always_ lead us into trouble.”

“True, sometimes it’s you.” Emma grinned. “Come on, I don’t want to lose them.”

Killian sighed. He knew full well that the two of them together were most often described as a menace at best, but it wasn’t all on Emma. And really, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

***

The sun finally set and the primary hunting party settled in for the night. Alice knew all of the best places to camp in Wonderland and selected a clearing close to fresh water—one that didn’t cause peculiar hallucinations—and free of dragonflies.

Emma and Killian kept out of sight, hiding in the trees while they waited for the camp to settle down for the evening. Emma wasn’t really surprised to see them set a watch. Wonderland was a dangerous place in spite of all of its friendly seeming peculiarities.

“Who should we wait on?” Killian whispered. “I mean, Uncle Robin’s got the best ears.”

“Followed by Mom.” Emma frowned. “Dad, I guess. He’s not quite as sharp-eyed as he likes to think and we’ll never get past Regina.”

Killian nodded. “All right. We’ll wait for your dad.”

They settled in, munching on pot pies they’d snagged in the kitchen on their way out of the palace. It’d been exceptionally easy to sneak out, almost as if the White Queen had arranged a few things for them… Emma was jostled awake sometime nearer to dawn when David finally took watch.

“Where’s the map?” Killian whispered as they crept closer.

“Alice had it,” Emma whispered back. “I see her bag.”

Killian nodded and the pair continued to sneak into the camp. Emma tapped into her magic to cloak them both in shadow. Regina couldn’t have counted on the details of Emma’s new childhood including magic lessons with Aunt Regina. This Emma was a far more skilled sorceress than her counterpart. Killian kept an eye on David while Emma padded over to Alice’s sleeping form and opened her bag, spying the map on top. A smile flickered on her lips as she gingerly retrieved it and slipped away.

A soft snap drew David’s attention toward the tree line, but all he saw were shadows.

“Is someone there?” he called.

Emma pressed herself behind a tree, heart beating a little too fast. She spotted Killian and breathed a bit easier. Quickly, they put some distance between them and the camp before taking a look at the map.

“Seems like we’re here,” Killian pointed, eyeing the dimmed stars above and checking them against the map legend. “So long as I’m reading these constellations correctly.”

“I trust you.” Emma eyed the path the blood droplet had taken. “Does _Unknown Lands_ , sound ominous to you?”

Killian shrugged. “Probably just hasn’t been charted.” He flashed a smile. “Means we’ll get the chance to do so.”

“All right then. Let’s get moving. I want to put some more distance between us and them before they realize this is gone.”

Killian wasn’t about to argue with her about that. Emma quickly folded up the map and Killian tucked it into his jacket for safe-keeping. He quickly oriented himself and they were off, with no one the wiser to them having been there at all.

***

Meanwhile, in the other party’s encampment, everyone was stirring as the sun rose above the horizon. All seemed well until Alice went to check their path for the day—

“The map is gone!” she turned to Cyrus. “It was here when I went to sleep.”

“How is that possible? We’ve had a watch set all night,” Snow said. “No one has come into the camp.”

Regina frowned. “See, this is why I wanted to set magic around the camp.” She walked toward Alice, eying the ground around where she’d slept. “Robin, I don’t suppose you see any tracks?”

The woodsman joined her, taking a careful look about before padding toward the underbrush. “It seems someone _did_ come into the camp.” He squatted down, getting a closer look at the disturbed grass and shrubbery before reaching into the branches and pulling free a single golden strand of hair. “I don’t think this belongs to anyone here.” He walked back to Regina, handing her the hair.

Regina frowned. “No, it doesn’t.” She focused her magic on the strand, bringing an image to life in the air above her hand. “What a surprise.”

“Emma.” David sighed. “I suppose it was too much to hope that her alternative memories would make her less…”

“Adventurous?” Snow offered. “She knew we were lying to her.”

“No doubt.” Regina shook her head, banishing the image. “But now she has our map, and the pirate is probably with her.”

“This part of Wonderland isn’t that dangerous,” Alice said. “But if they follow the path the blood does they’ll run into some of the more ferocious beasts.”

“Do they know how to defend themselves?” Cyrus asked.

Regina’s lips thinned a moment. “I suspect Emma’s command of magic is strong. If she snuck into the camp and no one saw her, she must have used magic to do it. Still, I don’t like the idea of the two of them being out there.”

“Agreed,” Robin said. “Alice, do you still know the way without the map?”

She nodded. “I do, and I have a fair idea of a shortcut. We should be able to get ahead of them, even if they do have a head start, they don’t know the land as I do.”

“Good.” Snow nodded. “Let’s get moving.” She shouldered her quiver. “I’d rather my daughter doesn’t get eaten by anything.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Alice replied.

Regina couldn’t help but thing that she was quite pleased Henry was _not_ involved in all of this. He was safe.

And if she could judge by the looks of steely determination on Snow, David and Robin’s faces…their wayward teens were going to regret they’d ever even _heard_ of Wonderland.

***

The forest grew less friendly the further Emma and Killian got into it. Emma wasn’t particularly worried. She’d survived the Enchanted Forest _twice_ , an irritable dragon—to be fair that was mostly by accident—and Aunt Regina’s evil sister. She could survive _Wonderland_. There were plants here that grew marshmallows. It couldn’t be _that_ dangerous. Well, at least that’s what she tried to tell herself as the trees began to whisper to each other.

“Is it just me or…are the trees talking?” Killian glanced at Emma.

 She shrugged. “Maybe.” She didn’t really want to think about. Just like she didn’t want to think about the sudden abundance of glowing eyes flashing from the deepest, darkest part of the forest. Or the growling. Her heart started to pick up pace.

Killian swallowed. “I don’t think we’re alone, Emma.”

The sound of snapping twigs broke over the whispering trees and the teens froze for a moment before the snapping got louder and closer. Killian broke first, grabbing Emma by the hand and taking off down the trail. They couldn’t get a clear look at what was barreling through the woods but it _sounded_ enormous.

“Do you even know which way you’re going?” Emma demanded.

“Yes, in the opposite direction of whatever _that_ is.”

Hard logic to argue with. Emma stretched her legs to keep pace with him, glancing behind her to try and catch a glimpse. She stumbled and Killian quickly tugged her back upright. The pair continued to run, following the path as it cut through the woods.

“We need to find someplace to hide,” Emma panted. “We can’t just keep _running._ ”

Killian didn’t have the breath for conversation, but he scanned the terrain ahead of them—spotting a rocky outcropping that looked promising. “There!” he pointed.

Emma nodded and they set off, with luck, it would be as defensible as it appeared.

***

“Do you hear that?” Snow asked, pausing in the middle of the trail. “Shouting?”

Robin and Alice nodded, the latter eyeing the ground with interest.

“This looks like someone’s caught the attention of a pack of snarks. They aren’t particularly friendly, but they usually aren’t too dangerous.” Alice frowned. “Still, they can be quite sharp. We should hurry.”

Without pause, the group took off toward the shouts as they grew more defined.

“I don’t see how throwing rocks is helping, Emma!” Killian shouted.

“Well I don’t see _you_ doing anything,” she shouted back.

Snow and Alice spotted the pair first, perched on the rocky outcropping—arguing. Surrounding them on the forest floor were strange, shadowy beasts that seemed to shift appearance whenever one got a decent look at them.

“That doesn’t look good,” Snow said.

“Don’t worry,” Alice replied. “Cyrus, could you?”

“With pleasure.” He pulled a small whistle from his pocket. “The trick with things in Wonderland,” he remarked. “Is knowing their weakness.” He blew sharply three times. It didn’t not have the high pitched trill of a typical whistle, but rather a deep-throated terrible sound like a large bird of prey. A sharp cry came from the gathered snarks. He blew on the whistle again and the creatures dispersed. He glanced back at the others and smiled. “Jubjub bird call. Gets them every time.”

“Clever,” Robin said. “Let’s go collect the children then.”

Alice rather wished her own child was there on that outcropping. Cyrus, sensing the distress, took her hand and squeezed. “We’ll find Dinah soon, I know we will.”

She flashed a strained smile. “I’m—worried. Dinah is just a little girl.”

“You were a little girl when you first came here. I have faith, we will find her.”

Alice took a deep breath and nodded. In the meantime, at least they had the map back. This would all be over soon. As long as she kept telling herself that, she’d be fine.

David and Snow were the first to reach the kids. Emma watched her parents faces, trying to gauge how upset they were. Killian half-hid behind her, taking his own look at those people ostensibly in charge of his welfare. Robin’s brow was furrowed and Regina had her _I might curse you_ face on. Which Killian was really too familiar with.

“Emma, Killian, get down from there this instant,” Snow ordered.

“Mom,” Emma’s eyes went wide as she backpedaled into self-preservation mode. “You guys got here just in time. I thought those things were going to—”

“Down here, _now_ ,” David said.

Emma swallowed and grabbed her bag, slowly making her way down. Killian took a deep breath and then followed. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sure, he’d figured they would get found out _eventually_ but he didn’t expect it to be quite this soon. He hadn’t prepared for it. He’d have liked just a little bit more time to brace himself for the fallout.

David was waiting, the moment Emma’s boots touched dirt he took her by the arm, towing her off to the side of the clearing the outcropping occupied. Robin watched as Killian tumbled down the last few feet, arms crossed. Killian paled a bit, fussing with his shirt sleeves.

“Hullo, Uncle Robin,” he licked his lips. “Auntee.”

“Killian.” Regina narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn’t entirely certain how he expected this to go down. The truth was, some of those _details_ she had little control over were things like parenting styles. He seemed about as worried over what she might do to him as what Robin might do.

“Look, I know this _seems_ a bit like we did exactly the opposite of what you told us to do,” Killian started, “but really, we were just trying to help.”

“That’s one,” Robin said.

Killian swallowed. “I don’t suppose I’m going to be able to talk myself out of this then, am I?”

“No.” Regina shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

The teenager sighed. “Could we just—I’d rather nobody else saw me getting a smacking. Eh?”

Robin raised his eyebrows. “I’m sure we can find a more private venue for your punishment. Especially as it seems we need to have a nice long talk about you putting yourself in danger, disobeying orders and breaking promises.”

“Yes sir.” Killian sighed again.

Regina was a bit—stunned. She’d known that the pirate, swashbuckling persona of Captain Hook hadn’t ever been the _real_ Killian Jones. That the caring, eager to please side he’d let out for Emma had once been the only Killian. Before rum, his bastard of a father, and Neverland all took their toll. This wasn’t a Killian she really knew how to deal with.

But Robin seemed to have things firmly in hand, taking the boy by the arm and looking around for a place to have their _chat_. Regina’s attention was drawn by a shout from across the clearing—Emma.

“I wouldn’t have had to follow you if you weren’t _lying_ to me!” Emma shouted. “And you did lie to me. I know you did.” Her face was red and her arms crossed. “I don’t see why I should be in trouble.”

“You promised to stay put,” David returned.

“I had my fingers crossed,” she replied, only just refraining from sticking her tongue out at him. “Because you _lied_.”

“Sometimes people lie to protect the people they care about,” Snow said. “That doesn’t give you an excuse for putting yourself in danger or stealing that map young lady.”

Emma rolled her eyes and turned to storm off.

David immediately strode forward, grabbing her by the arm and tugging her around to face him. “You aren’t going to avoid consequences for your actions by putting all of the blame on us. You did _lie_. You did _steal_. You did _break_ your promise. What we did doesn’t give you permission to be disobedient, Emma.”

At that point, Regina thought it prudent to bring her magic to bear on the situation. She eyed the rocking outcropping and the surrounds carefully before nodding in satisfaction. Regina called forth her power, transforming the stone into a serviceable cottage. “All right everyone, _inside_.” Her voice rang out through the clearing. “Unless you’d prefer all of Wonderland be privy to this?”

No one had to tell Killian twice, though Emma was the picture of teenager fury as David marched her inside. Regina sighed. Nothing could ever just go according to plan now, could it?


	9. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Warning* Parental spankings herein.

The cottage, being of magical origin, was bigger on the inside. The sturdy front door opened up on a cozy looking living room where a fire was already crackling away in the hearth. Alice and Cyrus took possession of the map, settling in to sort out where they were now that they’d gotten off the trail.

Robin peered down the hallway before towing Killian to the first of a series of closed doors. He opened the door, nodded in satisfaction, and led the teen inside, closing the door behind them with a rather final sounding _thud._ Regina joined Alice and Cyrus while David and Snow dealt with Emma’s little tantrum.

David claimed a room a few doors down from Robin. It was arranged as a bedroom and while he was normally against such blatant displays of magic from Regina, he was more than a little appreciative right then. The room was private, for one thing, and the provided furniture gave him more options.

Emma was more than a little tempted to poof away from her parents, but underneath the anger and indignation, was _relief._ She hadn’t really known what to do when the snarks surrounded her and Killian. She’d been scared underneath the bravado but she didn’t want to admit she was afraid, that she was glad her parents found her. Plus, if they had to come after her because she’d used magic to get away, she’d end up grounded from magic.

But still, they’d _lied_ to her. She wasn’t going to let that go. Arms crossed over her chest, she set her chin and glared for all she was worth.

“You want to explain what you were thinking?” David asked, looking her in the eye. 

She clenched her jaw, throat dry. “You lied to me.”

“So you thought you would put yourself in danger?” Snow shook her head. “Put Killian in danger? You two could have been killed today. And stealing the map? What do you think you were going to accomplish there?”

“I was trying to figure what you were hiding,” Emma managed.

“And what were you going to do if we hadn’t shown up, Emma?” Snow raised her eyebrows.

“I…I would have handled it.” Emma chewed on her lip, dropping her chin. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”

David swallowed. This Emma, she had a whole life inside her head. A childhood _with_ them. The childhood he’d always wanted for her. This Emma wasn’t quite the same Emma he’d come to know, but at the same time—she was. He was reminded in an instant of their argument at the well. _I’m not a kid._ This Emma though, she _was_ a kid. She believed she was fifteen and she’d put herself in danger. Broken her promise. He couldn’t let that go. He wouldn’t let it go for adult Emma either. Honestly, he wasn’t all that sure she _wouldn’t_ have done exactly what this Emma had done.

“You are our daughter,” Snow said. “And when we tell you to stay put, you stay put.”

“Your mother is right and you know it. Shouting and trying to pass the blame isn’t going to change the fact that you broke the rules.” David took off his sword belt, passing it to Snow, stripping off his jacket and taking a seat on the bed. “Come here, Emma.”

Emma had known from the start exactly where this conversation was headed. When her parents said things like, _you could have died,_ things weren’t just brushed aside. The greater part of her absolutely hated that they still acted like she was a little kid, but a teeny tiny part of her—one she generally ignored—felt safer knowing that they were there for her every step of the way. Whether it was baking a ridiculous cake to celebrate the A she’d gotten in Chemistry, or being spanked after staying out all night in the woods trying to prove Dr. Whale was stealing corpses from the cemetery. Sure, _he wasn’t_ , but that didn’t mean he _couldn’t_ have been.

“ _One_.”

She startled, green eyes widening as she looked up from her hands. “Dad,” she whined. “Can’t I just say I’m sorry?”

“Are you?” He gave her a sharp look. “Or are you just saying that because you don’t want a spanking?” Her silence spoke volumes. “Two.”

Reluctantly, Emma finally lifted one foot, feeling very much like her shoes were made of lead, and closed the distance between them.

“Jacket off.”

Emma took off her jacket and her father casually tossed it to her mother before taking her by the wrist and tugging her down over his lap. She hit the mattress with her hands, somewhat grateful for the comfort it provided, gripping the quilted comforter tight and trying to brace herself. But that first smack always took her by surprise, no matter how prepared she thought she was.

“You do _not_ put yourself in danger, Emma,” David scolded. “You do not lie to us.” The fabric of her trousers wasn’t particularly making any dent in the force of his swats. She buried her face in the quilt, determined to ride it out. She wasn’t a baby who’d start crying from a little spanking. She was _fifteen_ , almost sixteen. Practically an adult really. She was just as good with a sword as her dad and even Aunt Regina said she was a quick study with magic.

She could take care of herself!

David took note of Emma’s stubbornness. He shouldn’t have been surprised really. He’d have to break down her defenses if he wanted to get through to her.  “If you want me to treat you like a grown-up, you need to start acting like one, Emma.” He shifted his leg up, bracing his foot on the bed frame and shifting Emma forward. “And you have _not_ been acting like an adult, Emma.” He swatted the back of her thighs sharply.

Emma yelped. “ _Dad_ ,” she whined.

“Do you have something you want to say?” he raised his eyebrows, turning his attention back to her posterior.

Emma shook her head.

“You put Killian in danger,” David continued. “Maybe you don’t care what happens to _you_ , but I know you care about Killian.”

A particularly sharp swat accompanied the accusation and the first real crack formed in Emma’s indignation. And really, indignation was the only thing keeping her tears at bay. _Killian could have been hurt,_ was followed by a fresh surge of the fear she’d felt when she and Killian were being chased by those things. She’d been so scared, all she’d really wanted, clinging to that rocky outcropping and chucking rocks—was for her parents to show up and save them.

And they had. And all she really wanted right _now_ was for her parents to forgive her and hold her and tell her everything would be all right. “I’m sorry,” she cried, clinging to the quilt.

“Are you?” David didn’t sound convinced.

“ _Yes_.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” she managed.

“And?”

“I’m sorry I took the map and I’m sorry I didn’t stay put, and—and I’m sorry I put Killian in danger.” She kicked, squirming in her father’s hold.

He gripped her a bit tighter. “I’m glad to hear that.” He’d been keeping count as he spanked, and he wasn’t quite done yet. He picked her up and set her back on her feet in front of him.

The sudden change left Emma confused, she was pretty sure from his tone he wasn’t done yet, so why had he let her up?

She realized why a second later when he unfastened her trousers and pushed them down, pulling her back down over his lap.

“No!” She threw her hand back before he could lay down the first spank. He took her by the wrist, moving her hand out of the way and swatting her firmly.

“I decide when we’re done here, young lady.” He laid down another ten swats before she’d stopped kicking. “I want you to think about what you put your mother and I through, Emma. How we’d feel if you got hurt.”

Emma’s crying took a more frantic pitch. “I-I _know_. I’m sorry,” she hiccupped. “I—I was just angry and I dragged Killian into it and then everything went wrong and I was so scared—” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I’m so sorry.”

David finished with two final swats before bundling Emma back up into his arms, Snow quickly joining them on the bed. “Shh, it’s okay, baby. We forgive you.” He pet her hair. “It’s okay. We’re here. You’re safe now.”

“Everything is going to be okay,” Snow added, wrapping her arms around Emma and David. “We’ve got you.”

Emma had had a _very_ long day. She’d stayed up most of the night before waiting for David to come on watch and then there was the running and the spanking and the _crying_. It took a lot out of a girl. She fell asleep in her parents’ arms, utterly exhausted. She could feel embarrassed about it in the morning.

***

Meanwhile, Robin didn’t feel the need to lecture Killian. The teenage miscreant had already accepted he was in trouble and moreover, responsible for his actions. This was rather more drastic than the last time Robin had felt the need to provide corrective action, however. He also wasn’t entirely sure what Killian was expecting from him. He watched the teen for a long moment, Killian fidgeted uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

“I—do I get to keep my trousers?” Killian asked after a moment.

Robin considered the question, the context, and the fact that the teenage pirate could have attracted something far more dangerous during this little adventure and gotten himself killed.

“No.”

Robin weighed the options presented by the bedroom furniture, opting at last for the bed as the least awkward. He sat down and Killian sighed mournfully, trudging over to him before taking down his trousers. The truth was, Killian used resignation as a shield just as much as Emma used indignation. He wasn’t any happier about the situation and he wasn’t even all that apologetic about it but he’d found that things usually went easier for him if he didn’t fight it.

Besides, stoicism was attractive and Emma had been right there. He didn’t want to look weak in front of Emma.

Robin took Killian by the wrist and with a quick tug, had the boy over his knees.

“Why don’t you tell me why we’re here, Killian.”

Killian sighed. “Because I didn’t stay at the palace like you told me too.”

“I’ve a feeling that little miss Emma had a hand in your decision,” Robin remarked.

“Well, yes, but I knew what I was doing.”

“Trying to impress a girl is a very stupid reason to put your life in danger Killian Jones.”

Killian winced. “Yes, sir.”

“The next time you even _think_ about joining in on one of Emma’s schemes, I want you to remember this.”

_Uh-oh_. Killian did _not_ like the sound of that.

Robin started spanking, his pace steady and measured.

Killian was relatively certain he was in for the long haul.

Robin might have been rather spontaneous the last time he put Killian over his knee, but it was hardly the first time he’d spanked someone. Will Scarlet had gone over his knee a time or two as well as some of the younger Merry Men. He’d plenty of experience with young men doing foolish things for a girl—or a boy as the case may be with young Allan.

That had been a particularly spectacular bout of foolishness that involved beer, honey a chicken coop and a very angry bear. But that was neither here nor there.

Robin kept his pace, confident that Killian’s protests would begin soon enough, and then they could get to the heart of the matter at hand. Robin might not have been the same man that Killian’s magical memories made him out to be, but he _had_ promised to look out for the lad and he was a man who kept his promises. Moreover, he did feel for Killian. They’d been growing closer as adults, sharing kinship in their previous professions to some degree but it was more than that now, and Robin knew it.

Seeing Killian surrounded by those beasts had near stopped his heart. Perhaps it was because Robin was already a father, perhaps it was because he’d become one of Henry’s many father figures, but he’d come to think of Killian as one of his own these past weeks. If something had happened to him, he…he didn’t really want to think about that.

Finally, after a long stoic silence, Killian began to shift and squirm, clenching his jaw against a yelp when one strike came down harder than the others. Killian was a strong boy, but Robin had years of experience handling even grown men, and was undeterred by Killian’s wriggling. He simply swatted harder and got a firmer grip on Killian’s waist.

“Stop. _Please_ ,” Killian whined at last.

“Oh, no my lad,” Robin shook his head. “You don’t have a say in this, remember? _You_ put yourself in danger. _You_ made the choice to go with Emma. _You_ chose to leave the castle.” The scolding seemed to be having the desired effect. Robin was near certain Killian had started to cry. “You could have been hurt, Killian. What—What would I have done if you’d been killed? Eh?” He swatted the tops of Killian’s thighs.

Killian swallowed. “Mm’ sorry, sir. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No, you weren’t.” Robin eyed Killian’s visible skin and judged they were getting close to done. “And when we get back to Storybrooke, you best believe yourself grounded. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” Killian returned.

Robin paused a moment, patting Killian fondly. “Almost done now, eight more.”

Killian nodded, blinking back tears.

Robin didn’t make him wait, laying out all eight swats in sharp, hot succession. Killian yelped, stuttering another apology.

“I know, lad.” Robin rubbed his back until some of the sobbing had eased before he helped Killian up to his feet. “Let’s get those boots off and it’s straight to bed for you.” Killian nodded, subdued as Robin helped him out of his boots and trousers. Robin stood and quickly embraced the boy before he could change his mind. “All’s forgiven, Killian.” Robin rubbed his back. “All right?”

Killian nodded.

“There’s a lad, now, into bed.”

Killian didn’t argue, he was dead-tired now that the adrenaline had all worn off, feeling wrung out to dry. Moments after he was under the covers, he was out, leaving Robin to wonder at the transformation wrought on the pirate once more. It was still strange to see him like this. Though Robin rather thought he could get used to it. Used to having another lad around.

The door squeaked a bit as it opened, Regina peering inside. “Everything all right?”

Robin padded over to the door. “He’s gone to sleep now. I doubt either of them got much sleep last night.”

Regina nodded. “Well, we know where we are now at least.” She looked over Robin’s shoulder at Killian, her expression softening. “He looks so…young.”

“Well…”

“You know what I mean,” Regina wrinkled her nose. “Younger even. Innocent.”

Robin nodded. “I know.” He slipped out of the room, Regina moving out of his way, and closed the door behind him. “How close are we to the trail’s end?”

“A day at most. I think the best plan is for some of us to stay here and the rest to go ahead to the trail’s end. Once we know what we’re looking at there, we can come back here and make a decision about what to do next.”

Robin nodded. “Best if it were me and David then. Snow should go with you, she’s as good a tracker as I am, and you need to be there for any magic.”

Regina sighed. “That’s what I thought as well. I’ll see if Snow is willing to set out now. The faster we leave, the faster we can get back. And don’t worry, I stocked the kitchen.”

“How exactly did you do this?” He patted the walls. “It’s very sturdy.”

“Some of it is translocated,” Regina admitted, “from my father’s hunting cabin. No one has used it in years. I simply repaired things. The food I moved from the White Queen’s kitchen—but I left a note. Normally that sort of thing wouldn’t be possible, but Wonderland has a way of allowing magic to cross realms. It’s a peculiar sort of place.”

Robin seemed impressed. “You are quite the sorceress.” He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “Do hurry back. While I don’t think our miscreants will cause any more trouble so soon, best we don’t linger here.”

“Agreed.” Regina smiled back. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

And with any luck, they’d have Dinah in hand and this magic would finally be broken.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, we check back in with Storybrooke for a bit and our intrepid heroes pick up Dinah's trail.


	10. Chapter 10

Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke, Henry was getting worried. He kept writing, tracking his family as they moved through Wonderland. He was when Regina’s spell took effect. It wasn’t reassuring to see that they still hadn’t found Dinah, and while Ruby and Granny were great, they weren’t his moms.

“You look worried,” Violet said, sitting next to him at the diner’s counter.

“I am.” He glanced at her, flashing a tremulous smile. “I figured everyone would be back by now.”

Violet reached out and took his hand. “They’ll be back soon, I’m sure of it.”

“Well, well. Hello, Henry,” Rumpelstiltskin smiled. “Where are your mothers? I realize I haven’t seen them in a few days.”

Henry made a face. “They’re around.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Henry nodded. “Yeah.”

Rumpelstiltskin smiled wider. “I’m sure they’ll turn up.”

Henry watched his grandfather leave with a narrowed gaze.  They couldn’t come back fast enough.

***

While David and Robin stayed with the kids, the others headed out to track down the trail’s end. Regina was getting tired of all the walking, but as she didn’t know the terrain, she wasn’t about to try to get there magically. It took most of the day to arrive at the location where the blood trail ended. Sheer cliffs that dropped off into a sea of clouds.

“What is this?” Snow asked.

“The end of the world,” Alice replied. “Well, the end of Wonderland. If you jump off the cliffs they say you’ll fall forever. Though, really, you’ll just end up in a rabbit hole. Which could take you anywhere really.”

“You think Dinah jumped over the cliffs?” Regina asked. “Would she know where she’d end up?”

Alice shook her head. “I’m not sure. I’ve told her many stories about this place, but even I’ve never used the cliffs. It’s too much of a risk when you don’t know where you’ll end up.”

Cyrus nodded. “But if she somehow fell…I don’t know how we’re supposed to find her now.”

Regina frowned. “I may be able to get a look at what happened here last. Get an idea of if she went over at all, alone, so forth.”

“Do you have a forget me knot?” Alice asked.

“No, but I do have a spell.” Regina shooed them all away from the edge and set to work. She pulled a small mirror from her pocket and tossing it into the air. It stuck there, floating lazily before breaking apart into a thousand fragments. The cloud of mirror glass spread out, catching light and sparks of magic. She focused her power, drawing the blood from the map and keying the window to the past to Alice’s daughter.

Which was about when she realized what must have happened to cause Emma and Killian’s transformations.

“I think I know what Dinah wished for,” Regina said. “Look.”

Alice and Cyrus peered into the window.

“Oh my,” Alice’s eyes widened. The last time she’d seen her daughter, she’d been all of eight and a quarter, the young woman standing at the cliff’s edge was at least a decade older. She had her father’s dark curls and dark skin, and her mother’s eyes and smile. “She’s so beautiful.”

“We told her she couldn’t come to Wonderland until she was older,” Cyrus mused. “She must have wished to be grown up so she could come here.” He shook his head. “And the wish was so powerful it’s reverse effect hit Emma and Killian. It’s possible. Wishes often have unintended consequences.” Cyrus spoke with the weight of experience.

They continued to watch as someone else joined Dinah at the edge of the cliff.

“Who is that?” Alice frowned.

“I don’t know,” Cyrus replied. “But I don’t like the looks of him.”

A strange young man took Dinah’s hand, grinning broadly at the girl before they leapt off together. The dust settled, and the image vanished.

“Well, that’s unexpected. You have no idea who that could have been?”

“Not a one.” Alice frowned. “Now what?”

“Now?” Regina took a breath. “Now we need to talk to Henry.”

***

Robin and David were still up and about when Regina poofed everyone back to the cabin.

“Any luck?” David asked.

“To a degree,” Regina replied. “We know what Dinah wished for, but we’ve run into a new problem.”

“She’s gone off with some youth,” Cyrus said. “But she’s safe.”

“So what’s our next step?” Robin asked.

“We need to talk to Henry,” Regina said. “If anyone can figure out who the young man Dinah went with is, Henry can.”

“Are we going back to Storybrooke then?” David asked.

“Some of us have to, I think.” Regina shrugged. “I don’t like the idea of Rumple unsupervised.”

“All right, then who’s going back?” Snow looked around the room.

“I hate to say this, but Emma and Guyliner are probably safer _here_ ,” Regina sighed. “Rumple will use their current state against them.”

David nodded. “You’re right. But I think you should go. Protect Henry.”

“All right. So I’ll go, who’s coming with me?”

“If Killian is staying here, I ought to stay as well,” Robin said.

“Perhaps then the ladies shall return to Storybrooke,” Alice said. “The gentlemen can stay here and keep an eye on the children until we get back.”

David made a face. “I can’t argue with that, but that does mean Emma has no one here with magic to keep her from doing ridiculous things.”

“I’m confident you’ll manage,” Regina replied. “And if you need a failsafe.” She waved her hand and a small black bracelet appeared in a puff of purple smoke on the nearby table. “If she gets to be a handful, you can use it.”

David picked up the bracelet. “Thank you, here’s hoping I don’t have to.”

Snow nodded. “If you do, she is so grounded.”

“Noted.”

“Let’s get going then,” Regina said. “I’d like to get back here as soon as possible.”

“I feel the same,” Alice added. “I’ll call for Rabbit.”

The sooner they got this over with, the better.

***

Henry was waiting when the ladies returned to Storybrooke. “Mom! Grandma. So glad you’re back. Grandpa is getting suspicious.”

“Of course he is.” Regina shook her head. “We need your help identifying someone.”

“I know, I’ve been keeping an eye on you all. I started researching, but I haven’t ID’d the mystery man yet.”

“Well, now you have help.” Snow smiled brightly. “Let’s get to the library.”

***

Emma woke up hungry and a bit sore. She padded out into the main room of the cabin. “Where’s Mom?”

David glanced at her. “She, Regina, and Alice headed back to Storybrooke to get some information. They’ll be back soon. Meanwhile, what do you want for breakfast? I’ve got ingredients for pancakes.”

“Pancakes would be great.” She flashed a smile. “Hey, Uncle Robin.”

“Emma.” Robin smiled. “Killian’s not up yet.”

“He’s usually an early riser,” Emma frowned. “Oh well, more pancakes for me.” She sat down and winced. Her dad had a heavy hand, the jerk.

David laughed. “Okay, princess, you want blueberry or chocolate chip?”

“Both?”

David smiled and nodded. “You got it.”

Killian stumbled in just in time for the second round of pancakes. “Where’s everyone else?” He looked around with some confusion.

“Storybrooke, for the moment.”

He shrugged. “All right.”

 “They’ll be back.”

“I’ve no doubt.”

Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke, they were making progress on the mysterious stranger front.

“I think I’ve got it,” Henry said. He pointed at the illustration. “What do you think, Mom?”

Regina eyed the image. “He does look similar. Is there a name?”

“Renard.”

Alice frowned. “Renard, the fox. That might make sense. He wasn’t an enemy, but he also wasn’t a friend.”

“What would Renard want with Dinah?” Snow asked.

“I don’t know, but he’s from the Enchanted Forest,” Alice said. “Perhaps he and Dinah met in Wonderland, became friends? He can travel the realms on his own. I don’t know where he would take her.”

“Well, knowing who he is will help,” Regina said. “Henry, where’s that book of maps of the realms?”

“Right here.” Henry pulled the book out.

“All right, let’s see if we can narrow down where Renard may have taken her.” Regina set the book up on its spine. “I’ll need a drop of your blood, Alice.”

“All right.”

Regina worked her magic and the blood drop rolled along the pages, the book opened on its own accord. The pages flipping to stop on one map. _The Land of Untold Stories._ “Well, shit.”

“What’s the Land of Untold Stories?” Henry asked.

“Pretty much the hardest world to get into.” Regina sighed. “There are special keys. I could perhaps manage it with the Enchanter’s wand. Time doesn’t move there the way it should.”

“It’s a peculiar place indeed,” Alice said. “Why would Renard take Dinah there?”

“We’ll have to ask him,” Regina replied. “Perhaps the White Queen will have an idea about how to get there. Renard may travel all the realms, but even he would need help to get there.”

“I can’t decide if this information helps or not.” Alice sighed. “Back to Wonderland then?”

“It doesn’t seem we have much of a choice.” Regina sighed. “Back to Wonderland.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short, but it's an update!


End file.
